Chuck vs The Doctor
by Canadian Chucky
Summary: Takes place after The Marlin episode. Someone is playing mind games with Team Chuck. This is their adventure in figuring out who it is before its too late. Team Chuck, Chuck/Sarah and some Ellie appearances. The sequel is "Chuck vs The Asset".
1. Chptr 1 Lost and Found

Standard Disclaimers apply including the fact that I don't own Chuck.

_A/N: To help avoid confusion, I felt it best to inform readers that the beginning of this chapter takes place near the middle of the story. The story flashes back almost immediately to a few days before the opening scene. Once the story catches up to opening scene in briefly displayed in Chapter 1 it will proceed past it.  
_

**Chapter 1**

**Saturday (Evening)**

**Lost & Found:**

_The scene opens with a sky cam looking down at a car speeding along a single lane gravel road leaving a large amount of dust in its wake. The road is contained on both sides by steep dirt walls. As the sky cam descends towards the vehicle, you see it's a white older model Thunderbird. The car is obviously running beyond what would be considered 'safe' speeds, as the whole automobile is dangerously sliding and swaying side to side on the loose gravel. As the camera pans to the inside of the vehicle you see the two occupants._

_--_

_A layer of road dust coats everything, including the occupants. Even with the windows closed, the dust is working its way in through every crack, joint and hole. Neither the driver nor passenger notice. Casey's hands are gripping the wheel tightly. His face is solid, impassive, yet without the usual fire and gruff demeanor. His eyes tell a similar story. They are focused, yet strangely...hollow. . _

_Sarah's face and eyes are the exact opposite. Her eyes are red and water filled, but she does not appear to notice. Her face betrays the mental anguish she is experiencing. Looking at her, one would get the impression she is fighting the urge to throw up. Her eyes are focused inward and are unaware of her surroundings, or what 'liberal' measures Casey is taking with his driving. _

_If one was to look into only their eyes, one would appreciate the truth behind the saying, 'eyes are windows to the soul'._

_Sarah glances back down at the cell phone in her hand, her fingers are white from gripping it. Sarah's thoughts are flashing from event to event in a chaotic pattern. She is trying hard to focus. Her brain jumps back to a memory from a couple of days earlier in an effort to determine when this roller coaster started._

--

**Thursday (Noon) 3 days prior**

It had begun when Chuck had flashed on a small group of young men at the Weinerlicious. One of them was identified as a 'potential' threat to National Security and things had progressed quickly from there.

Casey and Chuck filed a quick report to HQ and received instructions for Team Chuck to monitor them until they were able to determine intent. Under no circumstances would the 'potential' terrorists be allowed to leave the country.

Sarah had begged off work to track them while the others picked up supplies, equipment and clothes for a stake out. They would meet up with Sarah when she phoned with the terrorist location.

Chuck found Ellie at home when he arrived to pick up some clothes. She had just come off of a late shift and was on her way to bed. He used that as an excuse to keep his talk short, but he did remember to tell her that he had a day or two off work and would be spending all of it with Sarah. Maybe they could travel around the city a bit and see the sites. She was from D.C. after all, and hadn't done much site seeing.

Lying to Ellie always made him feel crappy, but Chuck had said that Ellie seemed pleased with the idea and was happy that things were progressing so well with Sarah_. _

--

_Sarah remembered Chuck's face when he repeated the conversation he had with Ellie. She noticed that he sounded somewhat depressed and wouldn't look her in the eyes. She used to attribute his depression to the fact he was lying to his sister. She was right about that, but as they became closer over these last few months, Sarah knew it had more to do with the fact he was having a hard time talking to Sarah about their 'cover'. _

_She could always tell when Chuck was uncomfortable talking about their 'relationship', as he would never look at her face while speaking. It was a definite 'tell' of his. He simply could not look into her eyes when he discussed 'issues' that where too close to 'home'. She really needed to figure out how to handle her real relationship with Chuck. _

_Her thought processes hiccuped and her mind froze ever so briefly. _

_Then like ripples in a pond, thoughts of a relationship triggered other similar thoughts. It struck her that she already thought of herself as being in a real relationship with Chuck. Other than a brief verbal confirmation to him, she hadn't done much yet. Their first kiss at the bomb was rushed and the last kiss didn't really count. That turned out...poorly, mainly due to the lack of communication on the relationship topic. _

_In spite of the current situation, she had grinned to herself, as she imagined what kind of face Chuck would make when she told him she wanted a 'real' date._

_Her small grin faded quickly as she knew there would be other things to deal with as well. _

_How would they handle her job? Would Casey interfere or would he ignore it like he's been doing? Would they have to hide their involvement? Who would they have to hide it from? Casey? HQ? Both?_

_What would she say to Bryce when he came back? Despite his speech when he left, she knew he would be back. Agents like him always turn back up. One thing was definite; she would no longer be playing his game._

--

Casey spoke, interrupting her thoughts. His normally sarcastic tone all too noticeably missing, yet his voice cut through the silence like a car crash. "We're two clicks out and closing. We should be there in 2-3 minutes."

--

_His voice scattered her thoughts like dandelion seeds into the breeze. Like déjà vu, her brain settled on the time mentioned, forcing her memory to flash back to the surveillance mission from earlier..._

_--_

**Wild n Geeky**

Hotel Room:

She had followed the 'potential' terrorists to a nearby hotel. While enroute, Casey had been able to tap into the airport passenger lists and found out that their booked flight had been delayed due to mechanical problems. The airport was not able to give a flight departure time and the expected delay was to be at least 12 hours. Obviously, the terrorists would rather not hang around the airport under the scrutiny of security, and had decided it would be better to relocate to a nearby hotel until a solid flight time could be confirmed.

While the hotel was not very busy, the floor the terrorists had been given was. Sarah booked the only room left on their floor. Looking at the room location, one got the impression that it was probably a staff room before being converted to a guest room. It was located at the very end of the hall with the small vending machine room separating their room from the next one. Standing in the room, you could hear the overly loud hum of the vending machines next door. At least they didn't have neighbours to worry about, as the other side was the outside hotel wall.

Casey entered the room Sarah had acquired for them. He began speaking the moment the door clicked closed. "They have stepped out of the room to pick up something from the hotel services. We'll only have 2-3 minutes to plant the surveillance equipment. With Chuck watching the elevator and stairwell monitors planted moments earlier, Sarah and Casey slipped into the adjacent hotel room to plant the bugs and look for incriminating evidence.

Everything had been gone well. The bugs were planted and the terrorists seemed to be somewhat sloppy. Several laptops were sitting around the room and with one still running. The screen saver had not yet turned on.

A quick glance at the laptop showed they were in luck. The terrorists were running the latest Operating System (OS) made for mass consumption. The newest OS had been widely thought by the technical elite, to be buggy, feature poor, and bloated, but more secure than previous operating systems. The reality was that it was the exact opposite. The OS was feature loaded...with spyware built right in. Any update (legitimate or not) that caused the spyware 'features' to malfunction or be impaired in any way, resulted in as system crash and forced a full system reload to ensure the 'features' were back up and running properly. Part of the latest 9/11 initiatives...similar to the Intersect.

It was a testament to the overall design of the software that the most technical geeks merely thought the software was crappy. The public had no idea and neither did the terrorists. It definitely worked in Team Chuck's favour.

They took this opportunity to attach a small device to laptop in the room. The devices would be able to link into the OS and monitor everything they did. The tap was strictly a close range device, but it worked well in this case. They could also access the laptops drives (albeit slowly) using a search algorithm while it was in use. It would hide itself as an operating system maintenance procedure. No one would be the wiser. Operating systems are always running some obscure task in the background.

They received word from Chuck that the geeks were coming back up to the room. Apparently they had stocked up on burgers, and various junk food and beverages. With this part of the job done, the agents headed back to the stakeout room to watch the monitors.

The terrorists set up 'shop' with their newly purchased goodies and started their junk food binge while pulling up schematics and discussing technical stuff.

One look at the so called terrorists on the monitors led Casey to laugh. "These guys aren't terrorists. They're geeks gone bad. Look at them for Christ's sake. Looks like they are having a damn sleep over.

Great. pauses to look at Chuck before he continues Not only am I babysitting one, I have to spend the night watching half a dozen more. Come to think of it, it's like watching half a dozen Chucks every night." grunts

Looking at Casey, Chuck squints his eyes slightly and responds, "Bite me."

Sarah rolls her eyes and in a warning tone, "Boys...don't you have something to do?"

It was definitely going to be a very long and boring night. He glanced towards the bed. The luck of the draw was not with them on room selection. Their room had one bed, unlike terrorists down the hall.

Sarah suggested that they rotate their use of the bed. Casey would take the first sleep shift, then Chuck, then Sarah. She was a better night person than a morning one and this way Chuck would not be without an agent on duty to watch with him. Casey took the first sleep shift and settled down for quick bit of shut eye. He was asleep in moments.

Casey woke up on his own. The clock showed he had a few more minutes before Walker was scheduled to 'wake' him. He was going to relax until then but his sharpened senses picked up some kind of tension in the room.

It only took a second to identify the problem. The room was strangely quiet. Too quiet.

A quick glance told him that everything was in place. Chuck was busy watching the video feeds from the laptops to see if there was any information he might flash on. Chucks head blocked Casey's view of the monitor, but it didn't seem that exciting, as Chuck wasn't really moving much. He noticed that Chuck was listening to his iPod while watching. Casey thought that was a bit strange, as he usually preferred to talk to Walker.

A peek at Walker revealed a similar scenario. She was busy monitoring the terrorist's room using a large set of padded ear phones. It was fortunate that the cord was very long, as she appeared to be wearing a hole in the carpet with her pacing. Well the headphones explained the quiet room it was not clear why Sarah's eyes kept flicking over in Chuck's direction. He was not sure if she was looking at Chuck, the monitor, or both.

There was some detail he was missing. Maybe he needed to get up now.

Casey's rise from the bed went unnoticed by Chuck and Sarah. She had stopped pacing and was standing directly behind Chuck while Casey was on the bed behind them. She could easily see the door in her peripheral vision but Casey's approach was from directly behind the two. He saw that she had placed her hand on his shoulder and appeared to be gripping it firmly.

Curious, he slipped up just behind Sarah and Chuck and was about to ask if they had found anything, when he caught a glimpse of what they were watching on the laptop feeds.

Porn. All the laptops were running either live, in action feeds or viewing slideshow pictures. Casey's response to the screen was immediate and sounded jarringly loud in the quietness of the room. "WHAT THE HELL!"

The reaction from Chuck and Sarah was also hasty and reminiscent of a child caught red handed in the cookie jar. Chuck's full glass of pop, long since forgotten in his hand, now launched its contents into the air. Sarah had violently spun around to confront and, if necessary, defend against the noise. Her rapid movements pulled the headphones from their jack.

Chuck's pop landed on his head and her back. The disconnection of the headphones meant the speakers were now the default playback device for sounds from terrorist's room. The previous silence was now broken by the moans of women in ecstasy, punctuated only by the odd geek making comments in regards to what 'they' would do with the women shown.

Being an agent had sharpened Casey's deduction abilities. He grimaced and grunted loudly as he realized what had happened. Chuck had to watch the laptops, but wisely chose to use his iPod as a distraction. Sarah tried to keep the voices and room noise out of the equation, by using the headphones.

As an agent, she still needed to keep a trained eye on the monitors and Chuck. Chuck was still an asset under her protection and lacked the training required to perform surveillance alone. To Team Chuck's benefit, he was extraordinarily perceptive and might flash on something seen on the video feed. To Sarah's detriment, it was apparent she was more than a little uncomfortable with the content viewed and Chuck in close proximity.

It was not hard to assume her feelings for Chuck were a key factor in this equation. Casey doubted she would do anything about her feelings with him in the room, but it was likely a good thing he woke up when he did.

He made a mental note to watch them a little more closely tonight. A very small smiled appeared on his lips and went unnoticed by his teammates. On second thought, it might be a good opportunity to evaluate their current relationship.

Sarah and Chuck had calmed after seeing it was Casey, although they did look embarrassed at being surprised, especially with the content they were watching. Casey spoke loudly enough to be heard with the speakers running. "Did we find anything to report?" He finished his sentence with a pointed glance, a slight smirk on his lips and raised eyebrows at Sarah.

Sarah walked to the speakers to mute them, before heading to the bag of extra clothes they brought. She needed to change. She spoke as she walked. "Nothing so far. Unless you count being a male and having an affinity for watching naked women on the internet, out of the ordinary."

She did not say anything else. She couldn't. She needed to get away from Chuck as quickly as possible. Between the video, sounds and her uncontrollable feelings for him, she was having an extremely difficult time keeping a professional demeanour.

Being an agent meant celibacy for extended periods. Around Chuck her thoughts had a tendency to 'drift'. The surveillance did not help. She was by no means interested in the pornographic material, but it did kick her imagination into high gear and Chuck sitting there was almost too much for her to handle. She did not want Casey or Chuck to notice, and the shower was a perfect distraction.

Chuck was wet, uncomfortable, and a little red in the face. His shoulder ached where Sarah had gripped it before Casey startled them. Initially he had welcomed her touch, but it had become somewhat painful, while she watched the monitors with him. Chuck felt it probably wouldn't be a good idea to mention that detail. Instead he spoke up in an effort to diffuse the situation.

"Apparently the terrorists are not allowed to access much nudity or sexually explicit information. From the looks of things, you wouldn't think they even have women over there. Once they realized what they could do, it was only a matter of time before they were up and running."

Casey noticed that while Chuck was somewhat 'excited', he seemed pretty calm about the porn in general. He decided to press Chuck on the topic. "You seem pretty non-nonchalant about the whole 'porn' thing, Bartowski. What's the matter, outgrowing your inner geek?

Chuck's response was quick, if not very eloquent. "ahh...nerd is the preferred term, and I see a lot of porn at the BuyMore. At this, Sarah stops her search for clothes and looks at Chuck with a slightly surprised expression, which mirrors Casey's look.

Chuck realizes what they are thinking and responds, "What? Don't tell me you two forgot I work with Morgan, Lester and Jeff. Remember 'Irena Demova'?. Not to mention that customers bring in their computers for 'fixing'. Most of their problems are related to downloading of virus infected sexual or illicit material. I probably weed through an hour's worth, in some form or another, every day. Several hours of it, if I'm working 'the cage'.

Sarah's' blank look forced Chuck to explain. The "cage" is what we call to the computer diagnostic and repair area.

Casey grunted as he looked Chuck up and down and found his response adequate.

Sarah has listened to the exchange, but has stayed quiet until now. "While you two chat, I am going to have a quick shower to wash this soda pop off." Casey and Chuck nod in agreement.

After Sarah enters the bathroom, Casey turns to Chuck with a piercing glare. Chuck is somewhat taken aback. "What now? Look I said I was sorry for spilling the pop. It wasn't my fault you scared the crap out of me."

"I'm just wondering where you two would have been if I hadn't been here."

"What are you talking about, Casey?"

"Let's just say that I doubt she's having a hot shower." With that, Casey heads back to the speaker system and plugs the headphones back in. Chuck is left staring at the bathroom door for a moment before he turns to collect fresh clothes for his shower.

Sarah is very quick with her shower. She opens the door to the bathroom and calls for Chuck to come in.

Casey grimaces as Chuck passes him on the way to the bathroom. Casey rumbles under his breath, "A cold shower for you too Chuck."

Chuck ignores Casey and approaches the bathroom. Sarah has not yet exited. He looks into the room and enters finding her dressed and wrapping a towel on her head. With Casey's words fresh in his mind, he realizes there is no steam or sensation of moist heat, as would normally be expected. As Sarah turns from the mirror to exit she must've seen something on his face, because her expression changes from a business one, to a slightly amused one. He could swear she passes at an uncomfortably close distance. Maybe a cold shower is a very good idea.

By the time he exited the shower, he was extremely cold and more than a little awake. He was not sure how he is going to get to sleep now. While the sleep schedule worked well in theory, it was pretty obvious that it wasn't going to work in practice.

Upon exiting the bathroom, he finds Sarah lying on the bed. His logical reasoning isn't quite fast enough to stop his imagination from jumping to conclusions. Suddenly his time in the shower wasn't quite long enough. Chuck knew he was supposed to grab the next shift and was confused. "I thought...??".

Sarah cuts him off "Casey feels it might be better if we get some sleep now. He will handle the rest of it by himself."

Casey, having the headphones turned down enough to hear the conversation, provides a grunt of agreement.

Chuck is a little surprised by the turn of events but not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. Looking at Sarah, her expression is neutral. At least they will be fully clothed. That was good for a couple of reasons.

The first had to do with the marks on him. It wasn't until after he came out of the shower he realized she had left bruises on his shoulder where she was gripping him just before Casey startled them.

The other reason dealt with the fact that the last time they were in bed, he hadn't known what to expect. As it was, he had ended up telling Sarah she looked like a hooker... which, not surprisingly, lead to a fight. That 'wonderful' night ended by taking Ellie to the hospital for poisoning.

At this point, Chuck doesn't know if he could stand being mostly naked with her under blankets, even after a cold shower. Scratch that. He definitely knows he couldn't.

Chuck climbed onto the bed and positioned himself no more than the ½ way point of the bed. He knows Casey is watching their every move. Sarah is still facing towards the bathroom door and he is behind her. As she is on her side facing away, she glances slightly over her shoulder as she says 'Night Chuck'. He responds in kind as he stares at the ceiling. He is hoping sleep will come quickly, although he has a sneaky suspicion that will not be the case. As expected, it is indeed a while before sleep finally finds Chuck.

Sarah's eyes snapped open. She does not move. She hears the shower running. It must be Casey. It takes a second to get her bearings. She is in bed with Chuck and she is curled up to his right side with a hand on his shoulder and her head nestled into his neck. Now she wonders if she did that before or after Casey went into the washroom. She shifts her head slightly to look up at Chuck. His eyes are open and a little bit...wild.

"Good Morning", he says quietly.

She tenses but does not move. Chuck has an idea of what is bothering her. He sighs gently before speaking, trying to savour the moment. "You didn't cuddle up to me until after Casey started the shower. Of course, I only know the last few minutes, as I was asleep until I felt you."

Sarah pulls her head and hand away and straightens up slightly. "I'm sorry to wake you".

Chuck looks slightly saddened that she has moved. "I didn't say I didn't like it" flashing his trademark Chuck ultra wide grin while his eyes give off a mischievous glint. "I'm just saying." The words bring a smile to her face.


	2. Chptr 2 Analysis & Discussions

**Chapter 2**

**Analysis & Compilation:**

The terrorist geeks finally hit the beds in the early morning hours. When the agents were confident the geeks were asleep, Sarah made a quick trip to the hotel kitchen for Team Chuck. They ate breakfast in their room while sorting and organizing the important data obtained overnight in preparation for a report to HQ.

As Chuck was deemed to be the most experienced with handling computers and data, he spent most of his time separating and deleting the pornographic material, which now comprised the majority of the collected information. As he pulled relevant information, he would forward it to one of the other computers for Casey and Sarah to review and catalogue in order of importance.

Upon reviewing the data, it was obvious that the 'terrorists' were either really stupid or not at all concerned about security. From the looks of things, it was probably a little of both. Not counting their teen-like behaviour during the night, they had reported in using the tapped laptops. It was obvious that they had no field training.

The laptops had multiple files on them, containing detailed information on illicit weapons and armaments complete with shipping schedules, equipment lists, architectural plans and weapons schematics. It looked like the laptop users weren't even aware of what most of the files contained.

While the amount of information obtained was a fantastic find, Casey pointed out that it was an extremely lucky coincidence to stumble across a pack of terrorists _**with**_ a busload of their organization's critical intel in an uncontrolled and insecure environment. He raised the possibility that the geeks were actually part of an elaborate trap.

A good chunk of time was spent discussing the topic. While Sarah had agreed it was feasible, she was leaning towards very unlikely, based on their other actions. Casey was adamant that they spend more time looking for a trap. It was apparent that the agents were slowly becoming angry, as the tone of their words was slowly deteriorating into something a little more 'heated'.

Chuck was able to ignore it for the most part, until Casey started making what could only be described as personal attacks against Sarah. It started with suggestions about Sarah's 'impaired' abilities. Things sort of went off the deep end at that point.

At the Buy More, Chuck's peers actually looked up to him, although it wasn't always apparent. In the spy world, he was looked down upon. His saving grace was whenever he was around Sarah. She always seemed to bring out more of his hidden strengths when 'under fire'. Well, this was one of those times he felt it would be a good idea to step into the line of fire, figuratively speaking. If anything, it would give them a new target. The things he does for the team.

He took a deep breath and spun his chair to face them.

Upon finishing his rotation, he saw them almost face to face arguing. He immediately thought of Jeff and Lester. That brought a large grin to his face.

Apparently he didn't need to say anything. They had noticed him spin towards them and in their current state of mind, they had interpreted the grin as an aggressive action unto itself. The implication being that he thought them arguing was humorous. Oh well, he thought. It achieves the same affect. Their attention is now on him.

Casey was the first to respond with a snap. "What is it Bartowski?

Sarah glared at Casey.

Chucks made his response direct and to the point. "It is not a trap."

Casey's reaction was quick and acidic, "And you know this how, Bartowski? It come up in a midnight meeting of the porn starved geeks while I slept?"

Ignoring Casey's comments, Sarah was a little more forgiving in her response to his statement. "What proof do you have of this Chuck?"

Chuck glanced at her before sliding his chair over to their computer. It held all the important data extracted. He proceeded to pull up the stored data and explain what he found.

"All the files are stored in directories. Every time you create a file or directory it is dated with the current date unless you tell it otherwise. But if you do a direct copy of an existing file or directory it keeps the original date as last modified or created. All the laptops contained the same directories with the same files. Albeit some of the directories are in different locations on each laptop, but they were still there."

"So that means what, Bartowski?", growled Casey.

Chuck took a deep breath and began, "The fact that they have so much information stored in what appear to be copies of the original directories is a giveaway they just copied directories for the trip rather than the individual files they needed. Obviously they don't have a structured IT department to organize data for transport. If they are like every other overworked and underpaid nerd, they would've copied the entire directory where their files were. It saves time. Better a directory of crap you don't need than a couple of critical files missing."

Casey's eyes squinted slightly, as he assimilated the information. He began to cool slightly as he worked through what Chuck said. Calming down had the beneficial trait of increasing attentiveness and triggering a simple realization. _Chuck was not afraid of him. At least not right now. Dammit! That usually meant Chuck was very confident in himself, which almost always ended up with Chuck being correct._

_Sarah sensed Casey relaxing, but was still unconvinced that he would stay that way. Besides if she let this slide, even if Chuck was backing up her, Casey would just twist it into an 'emotional' decision affecting her performance. She decided it would be better to play devil's advocate and take Casey's side to help shut down this argument_. "How you can be sure Chuck? Maybe it was all a plant."

Chuck mentally sighed. _They don't give up easily_. "Doubtful. When they first arrived in the room and before Casey took the first sleep shift, you can see the files they accessed. We also have their discussions detailing the files they opened. All the files used, have been resaved with the updated info and match the topics of discussion. All of the other files in the directories are untouched and either password protected or encrypted to some extent. We were able to crack those files and passwords using the government backdoors installed in the programs. They had no access to the backdoors used nor were any similar password cracking tools found on their laptops."

Sarah seemed to accept this explanation as satisfactory. She looked at Casey asking, "Satisfied yet?"

Casey frowned and spit out, "Fine, but you could've said something sooner Bartowski."

_Chuck was tired of being the target of abuse. Even when he was 100 right and playing as a 'team' member, Casey found something to bitch about. Sarah couldn't always defend him either. If anything, the rooftop extraction proved that she wouldn't be able to save him all the time. He was going to have to learn to take care of himself._

Chuck steeled himself, took a deep breath, looked Casey dead in the eyes and replied in a calm but slightly snide voice, "I would've, but you were so emotional I thought it was impairing your ability to function as an agent and didn't think you would welcome any new facts or information."

While he was speaking Casey's eyes began to bug out of his head and he started balling his hands into fists. Chuck had casually slid his chair back over to his computer while he was talking. As he spun to face his computer he finished by speaking over his shoulder, "Maybe if you were thinking a little more clearly you would've asked Team Chucks resident nerd his thoughts on the situation instead of being a drama queen."

Sarah was looking at Chuck like he had grown horns out of his head. She had tensed at Chucks verbal lashing. She didn't even need to look at Casey to know he was ready to explode. To her amazement he held back. At least until Chuck called him a drama queen. That was the proverbial straw that broke his back or in this case, his restraint.

Casey lunged at Chucks back but Sarah was prepared for it. She stepped in front of Casey, grasped both his arms and yelled, "Casey! Enough! Why don't you take a break and get something from downstairs." Casey scowled at Chucks back before easing up and, with a loud growl, turned and left the room.

**Earnest Discussions:**

Sarah watched Casey leave the room. When she was sure he was not coming back into the room, she set the security bolt and stormed over to Chuck's chair, grabbing it and spinning him around to face her. "What the hell was that?"

Chuck looked at her calmly. It was doubtful she was going to choke him to death, so he was more confident in confiding in her. "Which part?"

"Which, part! How about all of it! Why were you antagonizing him? "

Chuck's eyes displayed anger, "Sarah, I sat here listening to you two argue over that crap for almost an hour. You were both so busy arguing that neither of you did anything with the data I was sent you."

Sarah began to defend their actions, "Chuck, that's not..."

Chuck cut her off, "No excuses Sarah. Neither of you bothered to ask me what I thought, but Casey was more than happy to make some kind of derogatory 'geek' comment every sentence or two the whole night. The only time he didn't was when he was too busy making 'emotional' comments about us or quietly to me.

A cold chill grabs Sarah's chest. She tilts her head slightly at his mention of 'emotional comments' and has to ask, "What exactly has he been saying to you Chuck?"

His response is somewhat curt, "Does it really matter? _Everyone_ seems to know there are feelings between us. They're just trying to clarify it. Ellie wants to know how deep the feelings go. Morgan alternates between threatened and happy. Casey is trying to figure out how it will affect him. The list goes on..."

_Sarah is having trouble processing what he said. She knows it's true on some level. As an agent she works hard repress her emotions. Is it possible she has been unconsciously ignoring others around her because they acknowledge what she does not?_

She tries to clear her mind and get back on topic with Chuck. "Chuck, it's still only cover..." Her voice trails off. _Suddenly her own voice doesn't even sound believable to her anymore._

Chuck's look says it all. He doesn't believe her either.

His response is slower and quieter. "Believe me when I say, I am fully aware what our 'cover' is. I am also _acutely_ aware of our feelings and the apparent inability to express them due to the 'job'. I told you as much on the rooftop."

Sarah is shocked that he is so forward with his feelings, but the agent in her does notice a flaw in his tirade. She licks her lips and takes the chance that mentioning it will redirect him from talking about their feelings. "Chuck, how does pissing Casey off help get work done?"

His eyes soften a little. He is knows she is redirecting the conversation and he knows why. His voice is surprisingly soft and gentle, "It doesn't. I never said I was perfect." He looks directly at her and continues, "I guess I'm just tired of being treated like a computer instead of a person."

Chuck spun his chair back to face the computer. "Now if you'll excuse me, I would like to get my part of the work finished before we have report to HQ."

Sarah said nothing. _What could she say? _

_He was right...again. _

_He made a mistake and admitted it...again. _

_He told her he has feelings for her...again._

_She shifted the topic away from those feelings...again._

_Her emotional restraint seemed to be causing hardships for both agents and civilians alike. Chuck knew she was not very good at handling relationships and by implication, the feelings in them. She looked at Chucks back for a moment not even knowing if or how to respond._ Breathing a small sigh of defeat, she turned towards the other computer, not noticing that Chuck had tilted his head slightly at her sigh.

After a moment Chuck stopped what he was doing and glanced over his shoulder to look at Sarah out of the corner of his eye. He spoke a low but clear voice, "Sarah?"

She hesitantly looked at him not knowing what to expect next, "Yes Chuck?"

"From now on, I'm going to do more of what I feel. I thought you should know."

Sarah's only reply was an astonished look. Chuck gave her a small tired smile and turned back to work on his data sorting. Sarah felt overwhelming warmth in her chest and a constricting fear at the same time. How is she going to handle this new development?


	3. Chptr 3 Reflection, Action, Distraction

**Chapter 3**

**Casey's Reflection**:

Casey stomped down the hall towards the elevators

_Damn! When did Chuck grow balls? He wouldn't have hurt him, but a good scare face to face usually worked. It was even worse, because he had been asking for it by mercilessly teasing and taunting Chuck every chance he got. Every conversation in Chuck and Walkers earshot included making comments on his geekiness, if that was even a word, or on the connection between him and Walker. _

_Casey couldn't help testing both of them. Ever since the rooftop they had been a little bit more open with their relationship. Walker wasn't exactly denying anything, she just wouldn't comment at all. If anything, since they rescued Chuck from extraction, she was more attached than ever._

_Both of them are wound so tight 24/7 that they're ready to snap. Hell, last night was just another sign of their thing. You could feel the sexual tension in the room. Last night's test was simple. Stick them in the same bed and evaluate their unconscious reactions. Even with them fully clothed and on separate sides of the bed, they had unconsciously found comfort in each other's arms in short order. _

_He knew Chuck had feelings for her, as he hid it poorly, if at all. Walker on the other hand...for all her skirting of the issue, was unable to keep up the pretence while sleeping. She had curled right up to Chuck. One could brush it off as just a coincidence, at least until they shifted in the spoon position, with Chuck's arm draped over her chest. Be damned if they weren't smiling too. Christ. _

_At least they had separated somewhat when he made a bit of noise on the way to the shower. Walker had shifted away from Chuck and started to reach for her gun on the nightstand. He had seen her move and had spoken in a low voice, "Walker, I'm heading into the shower." She seemed to understand on some level, as she had stopped in her quest for her gun. _

_Walker. She was only one of his problems. He had read her file. She was an extremely competent and able agent, regardless of the fact that she was a woman. He knew from working with her, that she preferred to protect the weak and infirm. She had...a sense of...honour about her. He smiled to himself. She reminded him of himself when he was a much younger agent. Well before his position and abilities surpassed those around him, leaving him alone in a sea of dangerous waters. He hoped that she wouldn't follow his path, but knew it was inevitable unless something changed for her. _

_He, on the other hand, had tried to hold true to the 'greater good' type thinking. It failed him when Ilsa was 'killed' in the bomb blast. It didn't take his fellow agents long to notice the change in him. He became darker, colder and no longer protected the people. He simply preferred to kill them. It was as if they had hurt him personally. Maybe he was using them as a revenge pincushion for Ilsa's death. Who knows? He'll leave that to the 'shrinks'._

_Now, with Chuck's help, he had found Isa again. It would never be the same. He knew that. Buat it just felt different now. The world was less dark and more inviting, reminiscent of the old days, more so now that he was working with people that exemplified those traits. He had worked alone for a long, long time. He didn't want anyone else to die. At least not his...he cut the thought short and steered himself back to analysing Walker._

_He knew before the rooftop, that Walker had fallen for Chuck. He had told her as much during a stakeout of Chuck with his rebound girlfriend Lou. At least that relationship was short lived. He chuckled at the pun._

Casey has reached the elevator but looks undecided. After a brief pause he presses the elevator button.

_Walker had denied she had fallen for Chuck, of course. Contrary to what Walker and Chuck appeared to be thinking, he didn't really care if they were involved or not. Their superiors would likely care about their involvement. Their usual reaction was not in the agent's best interest. Reassignment or death was just a couple of options. It would be worse for him, as they would probably use him to eliminate her and/or Chuck. That was not a course he was willing to go down, but might be forced to._

_For Walker and Chuck...well he needed to determine just how deep the relationship went. The more he knew about it, the better chance he had of predicting what either of them would do. Of course, since she wouldn't admit to anything, even after the rooftop extraction incident, he had been forced to use the old teasing game. __He felt like a pimple faced kid. This was not one of his finest moments._

_He couldn't exactly torture them, so childish teasing was the easiest way to get answers; indirect ones anyway. So far it was pretty effective. Besides he did enjoy it a bit. He did need to get answers faster though, as he was concerned that the relationship could impair her judgment and get them killed. If they would admit to it, at least they would be more cognizant of their actions. Denial did not help anyone._

_The other problem was if or when he would receive the order to kill Chuck. And where the hell was that elevator?_

Casey looks down the hall the way he came. No one is coming. He looks back at the elevator and notices the button light is not lit. He sighs and pushes the button HARD this time. He watches to see the light come on.

_Damn it. He was actually starting to like the kid. He just couldn't afford to show it. Hell, he didn't like showing any squishy emotions. It seemed to give people the impression that he wasn't tough and for him that was not a good thing. In his job you're more likely to survive if you have a reputation for being tough than soft. That meant you didn't have friends or else you weren't in the business long._

_Once upon a time, long ago, he used to train new recruits coming into the agency. The green agents coming into the agency always tried to make friends. Hell, he was green once too, not that he liked admitting it. Everyone soon learns it's better to not make friends. Inevitably friends were told things that could compromise you. Get burnt once or twice by a friend and you never have another, especially when a slip of their tongue can involve your death. Relationships were built on the same premise as friends except more intimate. That just meant that being friends was not a wise choice, and relationships were an impossible one. _

_People were only part of the overall problem. In his years working with the government he had come to realize a fundamental flaw in the public's thinking. Contrary to what a lot of everyone thought, the agencies were really out to protect themselves, not the people. Hell, he was an oddball in the NSA, mainly due to his background in the Air Force. He had joined to serve and protect and all that jazz. He thought it would be a good step up to enter the NSA. It took years for him to realize, 'they' were always out to save their own skin. Yes, they did save the 'world' from terrorists and the like, but when push came to shove, they dumped whatever they needed to, so that they wouldn't look bad. Just like in the movies._

_Then there was Chuck. Chuck was a different story in every sense of the word. Everything from the way he treated others to the way he acted around people in general. Hell, he was about the only person that Casey would even consider overlooking the relationship rules for. _

_Unlike the general population or the agents Casey had worked with in the past, Chuck risked his life to save others without expecting the world. Casey had seen him go off the deep end in trying to rescue Walker more than once. Not to mention the people saved when he disarmed multiple bombs, like the time he disarmed the bomb Laslo had at the pier. That took real guts. Something a lot of people, including the newer agents, don't have._

_Chuck was also humble and modest. He didn't do the 'saving' for personal gratification like Agent Larkin. He did it because it needed to be done and he wasn't even getting paid for it._

He stood waiting for the elevator. The light was still on. He glanced at the stairwell door.

_Last thing he needed was to have one of the terrorists come out for a midnight junk food run. Maybe a bit of exercise would be a good thing. He never liked taking the easy road. Always seemed to get people killed...or worse. _

He veered to the stairwell door and took the stairs down to the cafeteria to work off some steam.

_At some point, he was going to have to acknowledge Chuck's abilities...and their relationship. _

_Of course, revealing any information to HQ on either topic might prove to be a hindrance to his assignment to protect the Intersect. It could get Walker reassigned and Chuck stuffed in a bunker. Providing he doesn't kill him first. God this mission was complex. He missed missions where he could just run in with guns blazing. _

_He paused on the stairs as Ellie's home baked cookies came to mind. There were good. He restarted his descent. Well, maybe he didn't miss the action missions that much. Besides, everyone was growing on him. Ok, maybe not Morgan. _

_His amused grunt echoed in the stairwell. He had done enough analyzing for now. He would deal with the rest as it comes and shifted his thoughts to what he was going to eat. He just knew it sure as hell wasn't going to be sandwiches. Damn Bartowski._

**Stairwell Action:**

Casey came back into the room some 30 minutes later. He appeared to have calmed down and began to review the report Chuck and Sarah had created. He pointed out some minor clarifications, which Sarah quickly added and finalized for secured emailing to HQ. No one spoke about the earlier outburst.

Director Graham and the General responded a short while later with updated mission intel. The Caucasian that Chuck spotted was indeed a former US citizen. The rest were of varying Asian and Middle East nationality. Their exact country origin was indeterminate and deemed irrelevant. HQ used the locations stated in the surveillance data to contact the appropriate local government enforcement agencies for coordinating joint ventures to eliminate the terrorist cells on a worldwide basis.

Team Chuck would continue intercepting all calls and internet access from the room to the airport. When the CIA had an extraction team in place, the terrorists were to be fed false information about the flight time. Upon leaving to return to the airport, they would be removed to a facility for questioning. The extraction team would be waiting at the bottom of the hotel. Team Chuck would shadow the terrorists to ensure none wandered from the path on their descent down.

Everyone hurried to get the preparations done. It was determined that it would be best if the extraction team waited until after dinner. They felt the terrorists would be tired from staying up the previous night, and with a full stomach would not be very alert. The only snag that had occurred was when the terrorists left the room to head downstairs. Casey was already in place downstairs. Sarah was to follow them down, with Chuck sitting in the room watching the surveillance feeds to alert them to any stray people that might be watching the terrorists or be making an unscheduled meeting with them. Chuck would use the microphone to call to Casey and Sarah to inform them of any unexpected company or occurrences.

Sarah and Chuck watched on the monitors as the geeks left the room and waited for the elevator to arrive. After waiting for what seemed an eternity to Chuck, the terrorists decided to take the stairs as the elevator was a no show. Waiting until they entered the stairwell, Sarah slowly exited the room to follow.

Chuck waited a moment or two until Sarah entered the stairwell. As Chuck straightened to exit the room and follow he noticed one of the geeks exit the elevator and head back towards the room.

Chuck froze for a moment...thinking. This would put the guy in a position behind Sarah if he decides to follow down the stairs. Geeks they might be, they were still terrorists. Chuck, his heart racing, called out on the microphone, "Casey, Sarah. One of them came back up in the elevator. He just went into the room.

Casey responded immediately, "Damn it. He must have forgotten something. Walker, hold up until the last target passes you."

Sarah did not respond. Casey repeated the order. Still no response.

Chuck began to panic, "Sarah?"

**Distractions distract:**

"Shit. Relax Chuck, the stairwell is probably blocking the signal. You need to get to her before he does. Chuck, whatever you do, make sure he doesn't suspect she is following them."

Chuck glanced at the surveillance monitor. The geek was grabbing a small suitcase from underneath the bed. Chuck took the opportunity to race out of the room and to the stairwell. He just entered the stairwell when he heard a door open down the hall.

His heart pounding, he had to get to Sarah soon, and he had to do it fairly quietly. He didn't want it to sound like a herd of elephants running down the stairs, as it might cause the geeks to think they were being chased. Chuck did some quick mental calculations. The geeks were in no particular hurry and were fairly tired and talkative. If they walked down a flight every 30 seconds, it had been about 4 or 5 minutes since Sarah had followed. That put them around 10-12 flights down, with Sarah probably keeping a 2 flight distance. This geek would want to catch up to the others (assuming he was coming down the stairs...which seemed likely).

Chuck could cover a flight reasonably quietly in about 10-15 seconds. It would take at least a minute or two for Chuck to catch up to Sarah and he would only have a small window to figure out something as the terrorist wouldn't be as worried about making noise and could probably cover a flight in half the time, if so inclined.

As Chuck neared about the 5 or 6th floor, he could easily hear the geeks chatting but did not see Sarah. She was probably doing the same as him and hugging the outside walls in case anyone looked down the center of the stair well. Chuck was extremely thankful he didn't have to run up the stairs. He probably would've had a heart attack half way up. Nerds and exercise are not known to be the strongest combinations.

Chuck could hear the geek behind him gaining. He was only a couple of flights behind. Chuck's heart was pounding hard and he felt flushed and sweaty.

Rounding the 5th floor he spotted Sarah, her back to the wall in between the 4th and 5th floors. No escaping out the door. She had her hand behind her back, ready to pull her gun. Upon seeing him, she relaxed slightly, until she noticed his wide eyed expression and flushed face. She froze, immediately hearing that someone was very close behind Chuck. Her hand went back behind her gun.

Chuck knew what he had to do. They wouldn't have time to run to the next exit door, as the geek would see them. He was gaining too fast. Chuck saw Sarah cast a bewildered look at him, then saw her eyes harden as she heard his follower.

While she was focused on the noise coming down the stairs, she didn't really notice Chuck until he snaked his left arm behind her back to hold her arm from pulling her gun, at the same time he stepped forward and pinned her against the wall with his body.

If this was anyone else, she would have reacted instantly. Violently. But this wasn't just anyone, it was _Chuck_.

Her body froze, while her mind raced, "What the hell was he doing? She needed a clear shot!" With frustration in her eyes, she looked up at his face as it descended towards her. It took only a fraction of a second to realize he had removed the need for her to pull the gun. His mouth came down to hers forcing her head back against the wall. The kiss was rushed, forceful, hungry and..._passionate_.

She heard the footsteps rounding the corner of the stairs half a flight above them, suddenly slow then pause. The footsteps quickly restarted, much more quietly this time and proceeded past them quite slowly. The footsteps regained their former speed, once the person had left the line of sight.

The geek had dismissed them as a threat and was heading back down the stairs to the rest of his party. No doubt to tell his friends what he saw.

Chuck must have heard the footsteps recede as he slowly eased up in his kiss. Sarah had rushed the kiss at the bomb and had no desire to break this kiss as quickly as her last. She placed her left hand behind his head. When he began to pull away she used her hand to keep him where he was. He stopped pulling away and immediately relaxed into the kiss.

Their tongues were flicking and teasing each other. He was breathing hard while kissing her, no doubt from the hasty run down the stairs. She could taste him; slightly salty, again, likely from the recent exercise, yet not unpleasant. She was not sure how long it lasted, but she knew she enjoyed every second of it.

Of course, like every enjoyable moment, it was over all too soon. A loud and familiar grunt echoed in the stairwell.

The both froze for a fraction of a second, then Chuck eased away from Sarah and she placed her free hand on Chuck's chest to gently push him out of her line of sight towards the noise. She noticed that his heart was still racing, but he was not breathing hard. How long were they kissing? It seemed only a moment or two.

Looking beyond Chuck, she saw Casey standing on the stairs half a flight down and in full sight of them. They said nothing.

Casey took the opportunity to speak, while his look was directed slightly at Chuck. "Next time I give instructions, I will make sure that I am very clear. Otherwise one of you might end up _pregnant_."

Sarah's and Chuck's mouths dropped open in unison. Chuck's face turned a bright shade of red, while fire flared and jumped in Sarah's eyes. _How dare he!_

Casey watched for their reactions before he turned to walk back down with a smirk. _That worked well, he thought. Now to grind it in a little bit more._

He slowed his descent to a near stop and called back up the stairs, "In case you're interested, we have all the terrorists in custody. They are less concerned about their recent incarceration then you would think. They didn't even notice us until we stuck our guns in their faces. It seems they are involved in a heated discussion about a geek sucking face with some hot blond between the 4th and 5th floor. The little geeks watch porn all night, yet Bartowski can still top it. Looks like you just got some hero worship. Good job Bartowski.

I'm sure they will be talking about you two for a while as it's probably the last action they will get to see. Unless they drop the soap. Casey's grin just got even bigger. _Sometimes you don't need to see their face to just 'know' their reaction._

Casey's chuckling is heard fading down the stairs

_Sarah couldn't believe he has said that! Pregnant_!

Usually Casey was sarcastic smart ass, but this was way beyond what he would say.

Granted she had been distracted, it really could've only been 2 or 3 minutes a most. The group she had been following was only about 2 minutes from the bottom. The straggler was running to catch up and didn't give a second thought to them. Well, at least not a dangerous thought.

There was a team of agents waiting with Casey at the bottom with extra agents at the 2nd and 3rd floor exits to ensure total entrapment. Chuck and Sarah were obviously not in any danger.

She sighed. It still sounded like an excuse.

Still..., for Casey to be so juvenile and say that to them!

Under her breath she mutters vehemently, "Pregnant, my ass!"

Sarah notices that Chuck, still standing very close on her left, has heard and gives her a questioning look.

Chuck leaned backwards and to his right slightly, to look behind her.

Its Sarah's turn to give Chuck a questioning look.

With a dead pan face, Chuck replies quietly, "It doesn't look pregnant to me."

It took a moment for Sarah to catch what he said. She slapped his shoulder while he laughed.

Sarah tried to give Chuck a peeved look, but it immediately dissolved as soon as she saw his face. Light hearted amusement danced in his eyes and he sported a sheepish smile on his face. Saying only, "It worked, didn't it?" She knew it was a rhetorical question. Besides, she wasn't sure how to respond to that. She didn't know if he meant the kiss and the geek ignoring them or the fact that he could dissolve her anger so readily.

She sighed in mock frustration and roughly grabbed his arm to pull him down the stairs to catch up with Casey.

Chuck was very aware of her touch and the fact that she didn't let go of his arm until they caught up with Casey to give their report.


	4. Chptr 4 Invited

**Chapter 4**

**Invited:**

The basement of the hotel was serving as a temporary holding cell for the terrorists until a more permanent facility could be arranged.

By the time Chuck and Sarah had reached the holding area, Casey had already started the report to the Director and General. Chuck and Sarah took their places by Casey in front of the monitor, but not before quickly flashing each other a slightly worried look.

Surprisingly, Casey's report contained little about the questionable material viewed the night before. Even more shocking was that he did not enter any comments in the written or spoken report to HQ about the stairwell kiss. As a matter of fact, he had down scaled the entire stairwell scene to the point it was a mere footnote lasting a fraction of the time.

The changes were not lost on either Sarah or Chuck.

After the report was given, Sarah asked Chuck if he would like to get a bite to eat with her before heading home. It was getting late, and unlike the terrorists who gorged themselves just prior to leaving the hotel room, the last time they ate anything was early afternoon

Casey had overheard the invite and made one of his grunting noises, immediately attracting their attention.

Sarah stiffened expecting Casey to start into her and Chuck about the stairs. Possibly giving an explanation on why he didn't mention the kiss.

Casey looked directly at each of them before he spoke for the first time since giving the report, "Well I suppose a celebration is in order."

Sarah and Chuck were shocked. Chuck was the first out the door with a surprised "Wha...wha...What are we celebrating?"

Sarah wisely remained quiet, although her gaze was as questioning, if not more suspicious then Chuck's.

Casey said, "I figure that a mission well done deserves a night out for the team."

Chuck was again the notable speaker, opening with "What about the other successful missions?"

Casey grunted. "Success is only in the eye of the beholder Chuck. Tonight I had fun. Therefore it was successful."

Chuck pressed further, "Ahh... Casey, I thought you hated the stakeout, not to mention that you didn't even shoot anyone..."

Casey, sporting an oddly wide grin, "I know Bartowski. I was there, remember?" Casey poked Chucks head as if to push the point home. "Feels a little weird to be in a good mood ...not having shot anybody..."

Chuck began again, "Well I don't...".

Casey cut him off with a very calm statement that sent chills down Chucks spine, "Bartowski, would you prefer I amend my report with a few sucking face references?"

Sarah was waiting for the other shoe to drop and this seemed like it. She reacted immediately, also sensing Casey's strange behaviour. She needed to find out what he was up to, and to do that, they had to play along. She placed her hand on Chucks arm to stop him from any more questions and just as sweetly replied, "I believe a celebration is in order. What did you have in mind John?'

Casey smirked "I knew you two would see it my way. How about I surprise you two. I'll meet you in a couple of hours at that Shrimp place you and the Bartowski's seem to like so much."

Sarah simply nodded and turned to Chuck, "Chuck, your with me. Lets go." Without waiting for Chuck to respond, she slipped her arm around his and began walking to her car.

She could drive to her place first to clean up and change for an evening out, while Chuck waited. The restaurant was closer to Chuck's than Sarah's apartment. They would easily be able to repeat the changing at Chucks' place and make it to the restaurant in plenty of time.

Once Chuck realized he was going with Sarah he matched his pace with her and wasted no time getting to the car. Chuck began speaking as soon as the car doors closed. "What the heck is that all about?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it."

Chuck was not satisfied with that answer as he could see Sarah working through what Casey said. "Was it the stairwell kiss? It wasn't that big of a thing...was it?"

Sarah gave a half hearted smile and small shake of her head. "No, I don't think so. Besides, it's not his type of thing. To blackmail coworkers, I mean."

Chuck's face looks at her in disbelief. It is obvious he has not thought of this.

Sarah knew she had to tell Chuck the stakes of the game. "Chuck, Casey knows there is something between us."

Chuck looked at her with a confused and expectant expression.

_Sarah had steeled herself for a professional explanation, yet it came out with a little more feeling than she wanted. Much like everything she did with Chuck. More feeling than she realized. The downside to the outpouring of feeling was that it wasn't really intended. It's not that she didn't want to express them, but she did it at the worst possible times and it usually led to problems later. Re-calling their first kiss at the 'bomb' and the subsequent argument calling it a mistake she would not make again, was a prime example of how things went wrong._

She bit her lip, keeping her head pointed straight over the steering wheel and decided to just say it. "Chuck, he is aware we are getting closer. He knows it is a little more than cover". For once, Sarah is glad she is looking at the road, as she would prefer not to be looking into Chucks' eyes when she says this. Of course, keeping her face pointed directly ahead doesn't stop her brain from telling her eyes to dart a glance at Chuck to see his reaction.

Chuck's mouth has dropped open as Sarah is freely admitting something he has been guessing at for some time. Heck she even told him a relationship was not going to happen while under the effect of a truth serum. Now, she nonchalantly tells him she has feelings for him! She didn't exactly say how deep the feelings go, but it is a huge improvement over the complete denial he had.

Even when he was giving his goodbye speech to her on the rooftop, she never really said she has feelings for him. He knew, but she never actually admitted it until now. Chuck doesn't even know where to begin.

Sarah takes the silence as a prompt for her to continue. "I think Casey noticed more than he said in the room last night and the Casey finding us on the stairs just reinforced it for him. If you were an assignment, I would not have lost track of time, or lost sight of my target and I definitely would not have been caught off guard by someone coming up the stairs."

Chuck thought about this for a moment before responding. "So what now?"

Sarah continued by stating what they did know. "Casey didn't turn me...or more importantly our actions, in to HQ. He may be holding this information for an 'opportunity' to use it to his advantage.

After a few moments of silence Chuck quietly volunteers another idea, "Sarah. I know Casey isn't the most pleasant guy, but isn't it possible he might actually be a better friend and partner than we give him credit for?"

A glance at Chuck made it apparent that he was seriously considering this. Leave it to Chuck to state something entirely plausible, _if_ Casey was a civilian. She can't just dismiss his idea, as Chuck's upbeat and friendship oriented attitude seems to affect almost everyone, maybe even Casey. "I don't know Chuck. Either way we need to find out what his motives are."

The rest of the drive to Sarah's was done in silence as they both thought about what was discussed.

**Sometimes no news is good news:**

They made good time to Sarah's hotel suite. She showered, and changed into some form fitting black pants and a loose blouse. As usual, she was able to achieve a fairly upscale look in somewhat sexy clothes. She smiled slightly to herself when she saw Chuck watching her every move. She was quite pleased that he liked her choice of attire. She paused slightly while putting on her makeup. She realized she liked the fact that he watched her. She also liked it when he just talked to her. She would never exit the bathroom before putting on makeup, at least not when going on a date. With Chuck, it was...different. About the only thing he didn't see was her showering and dressing. Not that it wasn't something she wouldn't mind changing.

As usual, her efficiency in getting ready meant that they were back at Chucks' house with a lot of time to spare. Ellie and Devon were out, which was a good thing. Sarah waited in the bedroom while Chuck showered and changed.

While Chuck was in the shower, Sarah stepped into the Bartowski kitchen to grab some snacks for them to eat. It had been a long day and she would've preferred to just fall asleep with Chuck, after filling their empty stomachs, of course. Unfortunately, Casey was acting weird, and they needed to find out where he was going with this.

Her phone rang while she was pulling food out of the refrigerator. She looked at the ID Caller. It was Laslo!

There was no way he would actually show up on Caller ID. That meant he wanted her to know it was him so that she would answer. Of course, the last time they spoke, she was helping haul him off back into his underground bunker.

She answered on the simple grounds that she needed to know if he had escaped custody. If so, he might be hunting Chuck. After all, it was Chuck that disarmed Laslo's bomb at the pier.

**Sarah**: "Yes?"

**Laslo**: "Ms. Walker?"

**Sarah**: "Laslo? How did you get this number? Where are you?"

**Laslo**: "Look, I'm really sorry about before. You have to believe me. I can't talk for long and I have information about Chuck. Please don't be alarmed. I am at the secure facility and taking my medication. I have taken measures to ensure this line is secure and not tracked, recorded or otherwise monitored, as we would both be in trouble.

**Laslo**: I am sorry for how things turned out earlier, but I am quite...distressed...when I'm not on my medication."

**Sarah**: "To the point Laslo, or I hang up."

**Laslo**: "Chuck has more than the Intersect in his head. More to the point, the Intersect is more than a collection of data."

**Sarah**: "I'm not hearing anything that I can use. Hanging up now..."

**Laslo **(desperation echo's in his voice): "Chuck is in danger! You must hear me out."

**Sarah** (Laslo has her attention but she keeps her tone short and professional): "You have 60 seconds to explain, or I will hang up and report this conversation."

**Laslo**: "The Intersect, as it is called now, was not originally designed to be a computer search engine. Its initial design was a covert database of intelligence techniques that could be accessed in the field by agents or sleeper agents. I don't know the original call name designation. Unfortunately, no one could retain the data with enough recall or accuracy to perform the tasks at hand.

After 9/11 the CIA was forced to work with the NSA and the government redirected covert program funding into the development of a human based search engine. It became Intersect, version Alpha 1. It was more successful than the initial covert program, but ultimately it failed for the same reasons. Personnel could not retain the data very well.

Later, government cutbacks and the multiple project failures forced them to restructure their focus to a more conventional approach. The scaled down project was the second attempt at creating an Intersect. It was designated version Alpha 2. More code was added in an attempt to use off the shelf computers, rather than people, as the engine driving a multi-point search program."

**Sarah**: "Laslo, that gives me a history lesson on the Intersect, but what does this have to do with Chuck?"

**Laslo**: "Each version was built using the previous code. The initial version with the covert spy and sleeper data was actually hard coded into the programming. It wasn't until version Alpha 2 that the search data was added as a block of coded images, stored in a separate format to allow for easy updating and modification. They couldn't remove the older code without rewriting the entire program, which would take years.

Sarah mentally sighs in frustration. She realizes that Chuck does have several gifts that no one ever gives him credit for. One of the most understated is his ability to simplify tech talk into something everyone can understand within a couple of sentences.

**Sarah**: "Laslo. Simplify it. What exactly are you getting at?"

**Laslo**: "Chuck has the entire original program coding in his brain, as well as any subsequent modifications and updates before it became the Intersect version Alpha 2. The newer versions of the Intersect just 'blocked' out the older code sequences that were not being used."

**Sarah**: (becoming very agitated): "Ok. This means what for Chuck...?"

**Laslo**: "A computer wouldn't know about the old code unless there was a bug in the current program that allowed the data to leak out. In Chuck's case he IS the computer and he could access the covert data at any time; possibly without even realizing it."

Sarah feels a cold lump form in her stomach as she is beginning to assimilate what Laslo telling her.

**Sarah**: "So what you're saying is he could potentially access data in his brain, on say, covert hacking techniques then use them to actually hack a computer?"

**Laslo**: "Or he could recall covert assassination techniques and kill his handlers or others before they knew he was dangerous."

Sarah is now very alert and thinking quickly. It is a moment before she replies.

**Sarah:** "Who else knows of this?"

**Laslo**: "No one that I am aware of. The electronic and paper copies of the old code were destroyed for security reasons, and the new code has the older stuff hidden.

The code itself is encrypted in sections, so you can only decrypt and work on one piece at a time.

In Chuck's case, the code is stored in his brain, and no one really knows how he accesses it. It is quite possible for him to bypass the encryption and access different areas, simply because a human brain works differently than a computer.

The segmented encryption scheme was used to ensure no one person could duplicate and sell the code to someone else. It also means anyone working on the project is unaware of any hidden sections of code. It's doubtful that anyone even kept the old encryption keys as they would have been stored with the backups they destroyed."

**Sarah**: "Then how did you know about it?"

**Laslo**: "They had me work on the initial projects when I was younger. I had forgotten...has to do with my medications...

Lately I've been reinstated to work on the new ...similar... projects.

I just thought you should know. I really do like Chuck, I just... I just missed out on so much of my life because of the CIA. The medication helps keeps me stable enough to function and I hate it too...

Ms. Walker, don't let them bury Chuck in here...

Please tell Chuck that I am sorry for what I did. I can't stay on the line any longer. I have to go...". Laslo hangs up.

Sarah hangs up her phone.

Why the hell is everything so complicated when Chuck is involved? He is like a bloody trouble magnet. Thinking of Chuck, she realizes the shower has stopped. She will have to worry about this later.

She closes her eyes and pauses for a few seconds to calm and clear her mind of Laslo and his news. She takes a deep breath, opens her eyes and grabs the veggie snacks she has pulled out of the fridge and heads to the bedroom to wait for him.

Chuck enters the bedroom with a towel around his waist and is busy drying his hair.

Sarah smiles to herself. At least he is not as self conscious as he used to be. She waits patiently as he dries his hair and collects clothes. As he passes she holds out the plate and he pulls a few veggie sticks off to nibble on as he gets ready.

She smiles again, as he takes the clean underwear and pants she has laid out for him back into the bathroom without a spoken word. A few months ago he would have been uncomfortable walking partial clothed in her presence, not to mention more than a little resistant to letting her pick out underwear for him to wear. Things were progressing well on a personal note.

At that thought, Laslo's news filtered back up and her smile faltered. On the other hand, the agent side had just hit a new wrinkle. A wrinkle as deep as the Mariana Trench.

She was going to have to figure out what to do about it next and determine whether or not she should tell Casey. Depending on how this celebration worked out, would factor in if she lets Casey in on the new intel concerning Chuck or not.


	5. Chptr 5 Casey's Celebration

**Chapter 5**

**Friday Evening**

**Casey's Celebration **

The scene opens with a shot of Chuck and Sarah talking quietly as they approach the front door of the restaurant. The camera shifts to the restaurant interior showing them enter. Off to the side Casey is seen sitting in a booth and speaking to a waiter. The waiter leaves the table just before Sarah and Chuck spot him.

--

Casey sees them arrive and motions them over to the booth.

Sarah looks at Chuck and says, "Ok Chuck, remember what we talked about."

Chuck's answer is light and easy going, but there is a strong nervous undertone, "Pfft, no problem. It's only Casey, right?" As he finishes speaking they walk into hearing range of Casey.

Casey begins speaking as they walk up to the table, "You two need to figure out what you want to eat. I just ordered us some appetizers. I don't know about you but I'm starving."

Chuck turns to Sarah and flashes a goofy smile while asking, "Would you mind placing my order? You know what I want. I'm off to use the Big Boy room."

Casey, watching the exchange, grunts and rolls his eyes, before returning his gaze back to the menu in front of him.

Ignoring Casey, she nods yes to Chuck and gives him a smile in response as she seats herself in the booth. She watches Chuck until he is out of sight in the washroom.

As they discussed in the car, Sarah now has an opportunity to confront Casey on his intentions. Sarah wastes no time mincing words as she turns to Casey, "All right Casey, spill it. Why leave Chuck and I out of the reports?"

Casey continues to scan the menu and but his mouth curls into a smirk as he responds, "It wasn't important?"

The disbelief in her tone is blatantly obvious as she speaks, "Come off it Casey. You never miss an opportunity to do your job, especially if you can rib Chuck while doing it. Why did you really leave it out?"

He doesn't reply immediately. After a moment he closes the menu, and glances briefly at Sarah. When he speaks the words seem to stumble out of his mouth. "I'm not sure. It just didn't seem...right."

The words sound so outrageous coming from him that the response requires little thought. "And since when is doing _your_ job, not right? What about your "this is bigger than us" speech you dumped on me at Christmas?"

As she speaks, his face shifts from something akin to confusion to a more upset appearance. It's obvious that she has hit a nerve by questioning his work. His next words are a directly reflection of that. "Since it probably would have resulted in the removal of my partner and get the little geek tossed into a room for the rest of his life."

Not bothering to hide the incredulous look on her face, "So you're telling me you did it to save Chuck and help me?"

His voice drops to a low growl to ensure no one overhears, "Don't get all melodramatic on me Walker. Maybe the geek and his family are rubbing off on me. Then again, maybe I'm hanging around you and your woman feelings too much." As he speaks a small grimace settles on his face.

Clearly surprised by his answer and taken aback by his defensive words and aggressive tone she tries to diffuse the situation, "John, I..."

He wasn't comfortable with the conversation in the first place and doesn't want to wait for her to explain. Instead he leans towards her as he speaks. . "Bartowski seems to rub off on everyone." Giving her a piercing stare, "Some more than others." He pauses while she absorbs the information, before continuing, "An FYI for you Walker; I wasn't sure until I saw you two on the stairs."

He straightens back up and resumes a more normal tone of voice. "If you can keep my information to yourself, I'm sure you will appreciate me keeping your information to myself. I do have a reputation to keep up." His eyes glance towards the bathroom as he finishes.

Sarah is speechless. Her intense focus on him can find no hint of deception in his voice or face.

Casey's smirk returns as he realizes she is unaware of Chuck approaching. He subtlety redirects her focus to the surroundings by closing the conversation. "Now if you'll excuse me Walker, I am busy trying to relax and enjoy my first real evening off since this whole Intercrap thing started. By the way, your boyfriend is approaching from the bathroom."

Casey stops a passing waiter and is quietly speaking to him, while Sarah is watching Chuck approach from the washroom.

He is looking down as if studying the floor as he walks, when he suddenly looks up and directly into her eyes. Upon making eye contact, the wide grin she loves to see, instantly appears on his face. She can't help but respond in kind with a grin of her own and a spark in her eyes.

_In the back of her mind, she felt a little more at ease. The relationship side of things was looking up. Casey had just given her, what she felt was a truthful answer and it was in her and Chucks favour. Of course that still left her with figuring out how to tell both of them about possible hidden talents and dangers in Chucks brain. _

_It occurred to her that the new information from Laslo would likely escalate the threat Chucks posed. Casey currently thought of Chuck as a nerd with a brain. What would Casey think of Chuck if he knew that Chuck could function as any fully trained sleeper assassin? Would Casey still turn a blind eye to Chuck and Sarah's actions? As it was, it could all be pure conjecture, as they had no proof Chuck could access the other data in his brain. This was something she would have to revisit after some detailed analysis._

As she is formulating the new information, Chuck has arrived back at the table. Sarah slips out of the booth to let Chuck sit down.

Chuck's smile as he sits down is infectious. "Did we order yet?"

Sarah replies, "Casey, spoke to a waiter, but he didn't stick around to take our order."

Casey looks at them and says, "He was busy, he will be here to take the order soon."

Sarah studies Chuck's face while he looks anxiously for the waiter to arrive._ Her mind slips back to trying to figure out how to tell Chuck that she was willing to proceed in starting a real relationship. She was better at showing feelings. Maybe she could try that with Chuck. _

_Again, she caught herself. There was little doubt now in her mind that she had fallen for Chuck. Just thinking about him had her unconsciously classifying him as a boyfriend. It was definitely a good thing Casey was coming around, but she would hold off on the new Laslo information until she had some tangible evidence and all three of them were more comfortable with the relationship_.

Moments after Chucks return to the table, Sarah notices that a tight cluster of waiters is approaching their table. Her agent senses kick into high gear. Something is definitely going on, but it's unclear whether it is a threat or not. She slips her hand below the table and begins to reach for her gun as she turns to look at Casey for some kind of confirmation of the staff's intent.

He is staring at both her and Chuck with the largest grin she has ever seen on him. It is definitely not a dangerous look, but more of a mischievous one. She notices him glance to the waiters and back to them. She relaxes slightly and takes her hand off of the gun. Something is up, but it looks more likely Casey's doing, than a real threat.

Chuck is watching the approaching waiters with a bewildered look. The group pauses directly in front of their table. One of the waiters places the cake on the table directly in front of Chuck and Sarah. The cake is clearly lettered in blue and pink icing, "Chuck & Sarah Bartowski". Sarah and Chucks mouths form small 'O's as they are caught unprepared yet again.

As the staff moves closer to the table, Casey leans towards the two with a huge smile and says in a low voice, "Don't get your hopes up. I told them you two were fraternal twins and it's your birthday."

Chucks face immediately shifts from shock to a very unimpressed look. "Gee Casey, when did you start getting jerk lessons from Lester and Jeff?"

Casey brushes it off. It was already worth it to see their faces.

Deciding to ignore Chuck's comment, he tosses more wood on the fire, "What can I say? Everybody has some talent, even _Jeff_."

The emphasis Casey had placed on the words "some talent", while staring at him, is not lost on Chuck. Neither are the slightly raised eyebrows while speaking. His wording and expression is clearly meant to provoke Chuck. While Chuck is not very happy with the baiting, he chooses to ignore it and enjoy the celebration, food and most importantly, Sarah's company.

Sarah's reaction and look has shifted from shock to one with a little more volatility. Her eyes squint slightly as she watches Casey chuckle at their discomfort. This is a newer side to Casey she has never seen. He knew what they would think about having their names on a cake, and it had nothing to do with birthday's and everything to do with the kiss on the stairs. Casey's follow up talk about talents, or indicated lack thereof, has obviously irked Chuck, but he is not taking the bait.

There is an awkward moment of silence as the Asian staff begins to sing. As the first words slip out, it is immediately apparent what Casey arranged moments earlier. The staff members have a very strong accent, coupled with the attention it draws, making the whole situation fairly noisy and embarrassing. Casey seems to be enjoying every minute.

Agents generally avoid birthdays, especially under cover. Too many things to worry about and it's easy to get confused with real events and let something slip. Casey knows all this. Not to mention, he just finished admitting he would let their relationship slide. So what does he get out of doing this?

Sarah tossed a quick glance at Casey. He is having a grand ole time. It is possible that this is his way of having fun? Never having seen Casey have fun makes it hard to judge.

Chuck on the other hand, generally seems to thrive on this type of thing and would be simply enjoying the moment, as all Bartowski's seem to be able to do. Amazingly Chuck is apparently ok with everything, even being able to ignore Casey's ribbing.

She, on the other hand is not ok with any of it. A quick glance at where they are seated provides Sarah with the last bit of information she was looking for. It's now obvious that he chose the booth and seating positions to set up for his little prank.

They are sitting in a booth. Sarah is on Chucks left with Casey on his right in the smaller side attached at a 90 degree angle to them. This would put him in a position to watch them when his little plan went into action.

Two can play this game. Before the staff is halfway through the birthday song, Sarah has formulated a plan to show Chuck where the relationship stands and teach Casey a lesson. With any luck, she will get two birds with one stone.

She slips a touch closer Chuck, until she is tight against him and slips her right arm behind his shoulders. She then pivots and flips her left leg across his so that she is straddling his left leg. At the same time she uses her hands to turn Chuck's surprised face towards her and immediately moves in to a very visual French kiss.

Chuck, while being somewhat shocked to start, is responding, albeit with some considerable restraint as he is not sure what brought this on. While she was definitely enjoying Chuck, she did make sure the staff and Casey were able to see exactly what they were doing.

Needless to say, the singing trailed off and died quite quickly, ending with the staff dumping the rest of the party supplies on the table in their rush to leave the area.

_So much for a brother & sister birthday, she thought!_

After the staff left, Sarah slowly slipped her tongue out of Chuck's mouth and began to dismount Chuck's leg. While doing so, she looked out of the corner of her eye, and flashed a sweet smile to where Casey was seated with a fierce grimace.

Smiling to herself, she resumed her previous position beside Chuck.

Casey grunted loudly with what could only be described as a pissed expression on his face. Sarah grinned triumphantly to Casey. Score one for her. He won't even think about reporting this either, as he would have to report the cake and everything he set up.

Casey gave an odd sideways glance at Chuck, before his frown disappeared into a slight smile. Sarah had an instant sinking sensation in her stomach. She looked at Chuck.

Chuck looked like he had just run a marathon. His face was flushed, he was breathing hard and he was staring straight ahead. _Sarah took a mental stock of the current situation. She felt a little flushed, but she didn't realize she had quite that affect on Chuck. Then again, unlike the stairs earlier today, she was prepared for and had initiated the kiss._

He mumbled that he had to go to the bathroom for cold water, and Sarah scooted over to let him out of the booth. She watched him as he walked somewhat quickly to the bathroom, although he appeared a little unsteady on his feet.

_Sarah couldn't believe she had that much affect on him._ _She consoled herself with the thought that Chuck was a smart guy. Not to mention that working with Lester, Jeff and the rest of the Buy More crew is a continual trial of pranks and mischievous behavior. She concluded that he must've caught on to her turning the tables on Casey and been playing it up for the staff. _

It took a few minutes before Chuck exited the washroom. He looked calmer, although the front of his shirt and bangs did appear a bit wet.

_As he approached the table again, a mischievous thought prompted her to test his reaction. She just had to know if her kiss had really caused Chuck to leave the table. ._

Sarah slowly extended her hand to the cake sitting in front of her and gathered icing from the top of the cake with her index finger. Chuck was staring directly at her as she did this and his steady walk back to the table slowed noticeably. She slowly and dramatically placed the icing loaded finger into her mouth, sensually licking everything off it in the most suggestive and seductive manner she could. Chuck had stopped approaching the table. Even from several feet away she could see his eyes grow wide, his jaw drop and his face turn red. He immediately spun around and headed back to the bathroom.

Sarah stopped licking her finger and re-evaluated Chuck.

_Ok, he didn't know she was being mischievous at all this time, and she did have a larger affect on him than she gave herself credit for. She made a mental note to not tease him anymore, unless she was in a position to take it further. Further? That thought sounded immensely enjoyable._

Her enjoyment was abruptly interrupted by Casey as he emitted a grunt upon seeing the exchange end with Chuck doing an about face back to the bathroom.

Sarah sighed. It was time to address Casey's newest actions a little more directly. She turned to look him in eyes squinting slightly, "Do you have something to say,_ John_? Your little prank tonight seemed to be directed at Chuck and I."

Casey wasn't ready to tell her why he did it. If he was to admit that he was still testing them or more accurately the strength of their relationship, she might not take it very well.

Instead he felt it safer to shift the emphasis back to her and Chuck by responding in a scornful tone, "No wonder you can't keep a boyfriend Walker. That was pretty cold. The poor guy is never going to get back to the table at this rate." He grimaced and shook his head slightly from side to side.

Casey, leaned over to cut himself a piece of cake, as it sat neglected on the table. In a more serious voice he added, "And Walker... don't let it get in the way on a mission."

Sarah, had nothing to say.

_She was tired of justifying her actions to him, partner or not. And why did he say she was cold? She was only testing Chuck's reaction. If it had been Bryce, he would've played right along with... Her thoughts froze on Bryce. Bryce played games. Chuck does not. And all this right after she told him she considers their relationship real._

_Her insides twisted. It shouldn't have hurt him that much...or did it? Based on what Chuck knew about their current relationship status, at its best what she did was stupid. At its worst, it made her look like she was a consummate liar, which pretty much fits with her Agent lifestyle. Oh God... The wrench in her insides twisted again._

The waiter finally showed up shortly after Chuck had re-entered the washroom. They ordered and received both their appetizers and meals while Chuck was still in the bathroom. Sarah was getting a worried. Realizing what her actions may have done to Chuck, made her appetite flee with him. She played with her food, eating nothing, while she waited for Chuck to come back to the table.

One of the waiters timidly checked to see if their food was all right and if they wanted more to drink before scurrying back out of sight. Her display earlier seemed to have put the staff on edge. At least it kept them away while she sulked in silence.

Finally Sarah had waited enough and looked at Casey. With a demanding tone she addressed him, "Casey, can you go see what's keeping chuck?"

Casey didn't even look up from his plate as he spoke with a mouthful of food, "Sorry, I don't do counseling. You screwed it up. You fix it."

She let out a frustrated sigh, and slipped out of the booth to check on Chuck. Just as she does, he exited the washroom. She immediately notices that he is walking with his head down and not smiling, unlike earlier in the night. She stood beside the booth, waiting for him to arrive and reseat himself. The now cold meal was eaten in relative solitude.

No one spoke much and Chuck would not even look in her direction unless he had to. While he wouldn't look at her, his body language spoke volumes. She tried to shift closer to him and touch him a few times, but each time he slipped away from her touch and if anything, he seemed to be shrinking away from her.

Casey was becoming a little uncomfortable as Chuck shifted closer to him. Matter of fact, if he got any closer, Casey would have to push him off of his lap. He was not sure if Chuck would survive that.

Sarah, for her part, made sure to not do anything that might get him going again. For all appearances, Casey seemed to be the only one enjoying the now cold food.


	6. Chptr 6 Icy Icing!

**Chapter 6**

**Friday Late Night**

**Icy Icing?:**

After the restaurant Chuck had tried to get a ride with Casey, but he brushed him off saying he still had work to do. He wouldn't elaborate.

Chuck wasn't deterred and instead announced he was heading back inside to call a taxi.

It took a moment for Sarah to realize that Chuck wasn't coming with her. She tried to change his mind by saying he would go with her, but he had told no before she even finished speaking.

Casey had watched them interact and it was easy to spot her surprise at his rejection. It wasn't a shock to see her freeze up when he said no. They really needed to get their _thing_ sorted out.

Chuck had already started walking back to the restaurant, when Casey stepped up had told him in no uncertain terms to get his ass in Walker's car or he would stuff him in it.

Chuck had relented but he looked less than enthusiastic about it. They said goodnight to Casey and pulled out of the parking lot while Casey walked to his suburban.

Hoping to start a conversation, she looked for any opening to begin, frequently glancing at Chuck while driving. Unfortunately, Chuck was so engrossed in the scenery, he was at best lost in thought or at worst ignoring her. She felt it might be a bit of both. As it stands, the only noise in the car is the hum of the engine.

_Sarah knew she had to fix this. This being, everything happening to them and not just the restaurant tonight. Things had shifted for all of them since the rooftop. Casey and her appeared to be off balance, but she couldn't quite get a handle on why. Now she is screwing up on her relationship with Chuck. She needed to think some of this through. _

_She desperately wanted to talk to Chuck, but he obviously wasn't in the mood for it. He hadn't said a meaningful word since he thanked Casey for dinner and said goodnight. She watched him out of the corner of her eye. He had a slightly sad look in his eyes, but his body language suggested more aggressive undertones. He looked exactly like someone that has their feelings hurt and is itching for a fight._

_She felt a pang of regret. Or did she? Damn it. _

_What was wrong with her? She wasn't sure what she felt. Or why she felt it. Or, more importantly, what to do about it. _

_God, she soooo sucked at relationships. She could only hope that Chuck remembers her mentioning that at Christmas. It might make him a little more forgiving. _

_Sarah felt guilty for kissing him at the restaurant. Ok, scratch that. She didn't feel guilty for the kiss, as she enjoyed it. She was having a hard time figuring out what she really felt guilty about. She felt guilty for not letting Chuck into her life; she felt guilty pushing him away; she felt guilty for a lot of things, not the least of which was the teasing with the cake. All she could think was that it would have been different if they were a real couple. _

_She mentally sighed. Nothing is ever easy with him. Or is it really him? She wondered if all Bartowski's were like this. Or were all women like her? Thinking of Ellie, Sarah realized that she probably would've never acted like Sarah did at the table. Even if Ellie had gone wild and done what Sarah did, she's pretty confident in concluding it would've been welcomed and consensual in every aspect of the word._

_Now she felt even worse. She looked over at Chuck again and was surprised to find that he is staring at her with an astonished look on his face! _

Chuck says only one word, "Red?"

Sarah is confused and her face shows it. _ What is he talking about? Something at the dinner? A flash?_

Before she can figure out what he is saying, Chuck yells, "Sarah! RED!", while he wildly points out the front windshield.

She glances back at the upcoming traffic light and its red! She slams on the brakes as the car skids to stop with the front end sticking about a foot into the intersection. Fortunately it is relatively late and there isn't much traffic where they are.

Sarah apologizes very quietly, "Sorry, Chuck. I guess I was a little lost in thought."

Amazingly Chuck responds, albeit in a slightly snide tone, "I kind of got that impression when you ran the first two lights!"

Sarah's head snaps to look at Chuck to see if he is joking or not. If anything he looked a little panic stricken. She took that as a definite sign that he was telling the truth.

_Maybe she should think later and just try to talk it out with him now, before she kills them both while daydreaming._

Sarah glanced towards Chuck, "Chuck, are you all right? You've been a little distant since...the table".

Her words give rise to reply that has been simmering since they left the restaurant, "Really? Might it have something to do with you sticking your tongue in my mouth? Maybe it was you teasing me with the icing on my way back to the table?"

Sarah's reply is agitated and snappy as her emotions get the better of her, "You didn't seem to mind too much while I was kissing you!"

Chuck's response is lightning quick and said with little thought, "Like I'm going to spit your tongue out. I've been trying to get it in my mouth for months!"

Sarah's head whipped to face him with large eyes and a small happy smile before regaining her composure and returning her view to the road ahead. Chuck's face reddens as his brain registers what he has said. There is an extremely awkward silence before Sarah responds in a slightly calmer voice, "Don't take it so personally Chuck. I just called Casey on his prank."

The brief moment of awkwardness over, Chuck's eyes again flashed with fire, "Is that what it was? That's almost funny, because I'm quite sure if the roles were reversed, and I had been doing the kissing to get back at someone, I would've been physically injured in one form or another! And what the hell was that with the icing? It had nothing to do with Casey at all! How the hell don't I take it personally? I feel like it's a big game to you two. I'm just one of the pieces to play with!"

_Chucks interpretation of the evening's events echo closely with the assumptions she already made while running the lights. Now, how does she tell Chuck that? She could, or should, tell him something. Even Casey has obviously accepted their relationship to a certain degree. _She is conflicted and confused over her feelings and instead she says nothing.

Chuck is staring at her as she drives. Seeing no answer is forthcoming, he responds in a cold and bitter voice , "You know what, just drop me at the BuyMore to pick up my Herder. I can drive home myself."

Once again, Sarah's face betrays her, as she is clearly hurt. Chuck notices, but is beyond caring about whether he has hurt her feelings at this point. He wants so much to hold, touch, kiss, caress and oh so much more...but first she keeps him at a distance; then she treats him like a plaything that is at her beck and call. He has had enough tonight and he is not looking forward to their eventual argument tomorrow. If he was a drinking type of man, this would be a good night for it.

As he exited the car Sarah says in a somewhat hopeful tone, "Good night Chuck."

Chuck is already outside the car before he responds, "Yah, it was great before you f..." but the door closes and cuts off his sentence.

_Sarah could've sworn that he was going to say... No, he wouldn't have. She's never seen him so bitter. Maybe it's best to leave him alone. As she drives away, she watches him in her rear view mirror. He sits in the Herder and puts his head on the steering wheel. She feels an acute pain in her chest while she watches him get smaller in her mirror. _

_She finally understands what people mean when they say their heart hurts. She never had that feeling with Bryce. Sure he hurt her, but it was a game for him. It was her fault she had feelings for him. _

_With Chuck it was different; it wasn't a game, although that didn't stop her from hurting Chuck yet again. The difference was that this time she was around to see some pain it caused Chuck and it hurt her too._

_She was having a bit of trouble seeing while she drove. She was slightly confused at this, until she placed a hand to rub her eyes and found her cheeks were wet. Oh, Chuck...this is getting more complicated by the minute, all by itself. Suddenly she was very tired and couldn't wait until she was in bed._

It only took a few minutes to get to her hotel. She pulled into the parking lot. At this time of night it was pretty quiet.

_The bar revealers weren't out yet, but all the decent people were in bed at this hour. The words "decent people" made her think of Ellie and Devon. What would they be doing right now? She answered her own question. They were probably doing something she wanted to be doing with Chuck. _

_Ok, thinking about that was not going to make sleep come any faster. If she wasn't careful, another cold shower might be required, even as tired as she was. Tomorrow would be a new day. Maybe she would be able to make a better go of it than she did today. God, relationships were more draining than any mission._

Tired, frustrated and lost in thought, she didn't notice that the staff was not in the lobby until it was too late.

Her captors were waiting for her by the elevator. She never saw the blow that hit her. She was unconscious before she hit the floor.


	7. Chptr 7 Captured? Who Cares!

A/N: The site does not handle tabs or bullets when carried over form Word, so I had to improvise in a section of this chapter.

**Chapter 7**

**Captured? Who Cares!:**

The scene opens with a close up camera view of the top of Chuck's head. As the camera backs up, you realize Chuck appears to be unconscious. He is sitting upright in a chair with his head resting on his chest. The camera stops a few feet from him as his head rises to face the camera. He appears to be waking up and is very confused with an unfocused look in his eyes.

_Chuck awoke with a headache and slightly blurry vision. He wanted to rub his head and eyes, yet something was stopping him from lifting his arms. Groggily he realizes his arms are being held by something. He was too tired to move and couldn't quite see properly, so he let his head fall back to his chest and closed his eyes letting his mind drift into the haze._

_Memories of recent events began to float through his mind, then one by one, they started to coalesce. His brain apparently had its own agenda__ as it began piecing together the events leading up to current condition, __unconsciously forcing him to fight off the cloudy haze in his head ._

_The first factual thought to fly back into his consciousness arrives with a painful vengeance. He remembered fighting with Sarah. His chest tightens as if a heavy weight was laid it. The thought of the fight brings a palpable hurt with it. He didn't want to fight with her; just the opposite._

_Sarah. Just thinking her name evoked such strong feelings from him. She had been a lot more prone to touching since the rooftop incident with Fulcrum and the attempted CIA extraction. More recently, he had even kissed her, under the guise of a mission of course._

_He paused to remember the kiss on the stairs of the hotel. He had to do something to keep her from being discovered. It only seemed natural to kiss her. W__hen the unsuspecting terrorist had passed them, they __had already become a fixture in the stairwell. The man had no inkling of why they were really there. How could he? All he could see was just a couple kissing...and what a kiss. _

_When he kissed her it had taken a few seconds for Sarah to realize what was going on, but unlike the kiss in front of "the bomb" this was much longer and softer and more...sensual. _

_That became a problem unto itself as Casey caught them still kissing some time later and his comments were absolutely __**not**__ professional. Chuck never did figure out how long they stood there but he figured it could only have been 2 or 3 minutes. Time just stopped. Or at least it did for them. For everyone else; not so much._

_Casey had obviously decided to keep the stair kiss under his hat, because it didn't end up in the report he gave to the Director and General. Chuck hoped Casey was warming up to the idea of them together. Especially after all the help Chuck gave Casey with his old girlfriend. Sarah was supposed to find out what Casey's motives were at the restaurant. She must have found out something, because that's when things went...sideways...fast... in a weird kind of way._

_If the kiss Chuck gave Sarah in the stairwell was sensual, then the kiss she gave him in the restaurant would be classified as more of "take me now" kind of kiss. The down side wasn't the kiss itself; it was why Sarah did it._

_Casey was definitely playing with them when he sent the birthday cake to the table. A mischievous Casey; who knew? He __**did **__know Sarah's motive for kissing him was to get back at Casey for the cake with a side dish of shock for the staff to make them leave the table. Nothing like making it weird for the staff to serve you, especially when you frequent the restaurant a __**lot, **__he thought sarcastically. __Unfortunately as much as he wanted her, taking into account how and why she kissed him, left him feeling used. _

_The icing on the cake, Chuck laughed silently at his mental choice of words, was when she used her agent techniques to tease Chuck on his way back from the washroom. He didn't deny that he enjoyed watching her. Just remembering her licking her finger evoked a reaction from him, as he felt his face flush slightly and other parts of his anatomy respond. As fast as the warmth came, it left equally so when the realization struck him that, at that moment, he just hated her for using him like an experiment. Both times were right in front of Casey. It was like watching the two agents play a game with their mark. _

_Tired and as emotionally hurt as he was at the restaurant, his brain had kicked into high gear as he imagined Sarah telling Casey, "Hey, bet you a hundred I can get him worked up before he even makes it back to the table...and without touching him". _

_Laughing, the imaginary Casey would've said, "I'll take that bet. Oh here he comes. You're on Walker."_

_Chuck shook his head to clear the memory. Ok, now the self pity is kicking in and it is making his chest hurt too much. This is so not helpful.. He told himself he needed get it together and focus on remembering what happened __**after **__the restaurant._

_--_

Camera opens on a fairly close up view of a pretty woman with shoulder length brunette hair intently staring at something in front of her. As the camera moves directly backwards away from her face, you see several monitors reflected in her glasses. The camera stops a couple of feet in front of her, as she speaks.

Unknown Woman: "Sensors indicate he is definitely awake, but I see still no movement."

A Man's voice from somewhere in the room: "Keep watching. He will be somewhat groggy from the team's knock out gas. It may take him a few moments. Notify me of any changes. We'll need to get started when he is fully awake."

The woman takes a sip from a coffee mug while still watching the screen and responds, "Will do."

--

The camera is back in Chuck's room and is focused in a close up of him with his head down, chin touching his chest.

_The fog in his head is so thick; it's making it hard to make a concerted effort into memories after the restaurant. _

_He remembered the argument in the car. _

_Sarah was obviously distracted while driving as she had ran two red lights and almost a third before he yelled at her to stop. As much as he hated to admit it, trying to get them killed was definitely __**not **__something that Sarah would consciously do to prove a point. _

_The last few days he was in the seldom position of being __**right**__ on pretty much __**everything**__. That left the agents as the ones on the __**wrong**__ side of the equation. He didn't want to admit it, but it looked like he was probably not right in the restaurant or car. To his chagrin, he may have been hasty in judging her actions in the restaurant._

_Immediately upon self admission of the error, a tingling wash spread through his body, the fog vanished and his memory sharpened to crystal clarity. He felt...different. Something was happening?! The last time things went weird like this he started flashing on Intersect data. He waited a moment and nothing else happened. _

_He tried to evaluate what was going on. It was not a flash. It was similar to a flash, but at the same time... not. When he flashed, the images were recovered from the encoding and burnt into his memory, sometimes painfully so. The "burn-in effect", as he liked to call it, was not happening this time. It had to be something else. He needed to know what was triggering it. It had to be from something he was just thinking about._

_He tried thinking about anything from the previous mission they just completed. Nothing._

_He tried thinking about Casey's comments from the mission and at the restaurant. Nothing._

_He tried thinking about the car and his comments to Sarah. Nothing._

_He tried thinking about Sarah and her recent behaviour. The tingling spread throughout his body. He was on to something!_

If the cameras monitoring Chuck could see his face they would have seen a huge smile appear. Very much reminiscent of watching children get a new toy or some unexpected but welcomed gift.

_With the current predicament completely forgotten, and his entire focus on his memories of Sarah, he began pulling in recent __**Sarah **__events. This new memory flash was more like a controlled playback device. Each recent event appearing like a snapshot or mini video in time. _

_He tried pulling the first strange behaviour noted recently from Sarah, starting with the hotel room. _

_His memory jumped to that point, in something akin to selecting a chapter on a DVD player. Once he had the memory it sat frozen, like being on pause, and remained so until he chose to play it. _

_Without knowing exactly how, he fast forwarded to a save point in the paused memory w_ith a mental nudge: _Her hand on his shoulder, gripping it ever so tightly while they watched the surveillance feed during the last mission. _

_Another nudge: Her cold shower and her extra close exit upon leaving the bathroom._

_Yet another nudge: Darkness? No. Dark it may be to his eyes, but there is an absolutely wonderful smell in his nose, then a soft touch. The memory pieces coalesce into a complete one. He is repositioning himself into the spoon position on his side with someone who smells like Sarah sliding into place in front in front of him. The memory is of touch and smell, not once did he open his eyes before drifting back to sleep__**.**_

_Chuck freezes the memory momentarily, as he didn't or couldn't remember that until just now. This he would definitely revisit later. _

_Nudge: Feeling her moving away, then moving back to his side, again in darkness._

_Nudge: Waking up to find her sleeping next to him, with Casey in the shower. _

Feeling more confident and more accustomed to the new memory control, he begins pulling the events with her faster, fast forwarding through each one to suddenly important points.

_Chapter: The hotel stairs. _

_Nudge: The kiss and more importantly her willingness in extending it...until Casey caught them._

_Chapter: The car ride home from the mission. _

_Nudge: Her admission of feelings for him in the car._

_Chapter: The car ride to the restaurant. _

_Nudge: Their agreement that Casey knew something about them and was giving all the appearances of letting it slide under the radar with HQ. _

_Nudge: The decision that she would find out what Casey was up to when they got to the restaurant._

_Chapter: The celebration at the restaurant._

_Nudge: Her radiant smile when he came back from the restroom, supposedly after she had confronted Casey._

_Nudge: French kissing him at the table in front of everyone, including Casey._

_Nudge: Her smile and slightly uncertain look immediately prior to the slow motion icing loaded finger lick._

_Chapter: The car ride from the restaurant. _

_Nudge: Watching her out of the corner of his eye and seeing her pained and confused look while she was thinking and running the red lights._

_Nudge: Her attempts to speak to him about the restaurant. _

_Nudge: Her offended attitude when he implied he didn't like the kiss at the table._

_Enough..._

_Chuck relaxed his focus, letting his brain ease back to the present and with it the tingling ebbed away._

_His detailed journey through memory lane resulted in the recognition of several errors on his part, scattered among some inescapable conclusions. _

_He hadn't trusted her enough at the restaurant._

_He had over reacted at the restaurant. _

_He ignored her in the car when she did try to explain and__told her off._

_He is really not that good with relationships._

_Neither is she._

_Which means... she also told me something else about her that was __**true**__! She __**is **__"not very good at relationships"._

_The realization lifted the massive weight off of his chest. _

_Now he just had to find a way to apologize._

Chuck's head lifts from his chest and he laughs out loud.

--

Camera is back in front of the pretty brunette watching the monitors. The man is still off camera.

Pretty Brunette: "He's definitely awake...and laughing?"

Voice of Man: "Are you sure he's awake?"

Pretty Brunette: "Well he's looking around the room and the health monitors say he is conscious and has been for the last 5 or 6 minutes. Are you sure he is the one we are looking for? Not many people laugh when tied to a chair in a room by themselves."

Voice of Man. (As the man speaks the voice gets closer until he is standing behind the woman, but you can't see anything above his chest): "The men had very detailed instructions on what to look for in test subjects. They seldom fail when given specific enough parameters.

The camera pivots until it is positioned slightly behind the woman's head. Several LCD monitors are mounted in a large arc in front of her. One appears to display a wire frame map of the facility, another displays several vital statistics on the patient's health, and the rest display Chuck restrained in a chair but from a different angle on each monitor.

Voice of Man: "Well, my dear, I think it's time to pay our young guest a visit."

--


	8. Chptr 8 Seperate Accomodations

**Chapter 8**

**Separate Accommodations:**

Sarah woke slowly to an uncomfortable rhythmic bouncing. She forced her body to stay relaxed and limp while attempting get her bearings and take stock of her current condition.

The bouncing and subsequent stomach discomfort was from her being carried on someone's shoulder. The sore spot on her head appeared to be where she was hit and knocked unconscious earlier at her hotel.

Other than the bump on the head, she felt relatively unharmed. There was some kind of soft dark material over her head and her hands and feet were tied. Obviously whoever is carrying her does not want her to see where she is going.

She didn't have to look for her weapons, as she could not feel her knives, which meant they had likely taken them as well as her gun.

Next she spent a moment remembering what happened. They took her at the hotel with no real effort. The combination of being overtired from the mission, the poor meals, the argument with Chuck and the admission of the relationship with him, all contributed to make her an easy target.

A flash of panic grips her._ Chuck! Did they get him?_

Before she can contemplate her own question, the person carrying her had arrived at his destination. He shifted his grip on her and she was roughly tossed into a metal chair. She couldn't stop herself from gasping as she hit the hard chair.

From the noises on her left, it sounded like Casey had also been captured and tossed into a chair near her.

She would recognize those grunts and growls anywhere. Her hands and feet were placed into metal clamps secured to her chair. The sack was removed from her head. Casey was bound in the chair similar to hers only a few feet from her. He appeared to only be semi conscious. He was sporting a few scrapes and bruises, possibly from the initial abduction.

Chuck was nowhere to be seen. Either they didn't get him or he was being kept somewhere else. The abductors left the room without speaking.

Sarah studied the room for any useful information on where they were, who took them and any possible ways of escape. The room was fairly large, and rectangular in shape, easily 30' long and 20' wide. Everything was a nondescript metallic grey color. Large LCD screens were mounted in each of the room corners near the ceiling, although they were currently off. The two chairs they were seated in were mounted in the direct center of the room, currently facing one of the long sides of the rectangular room.

The room layout confirmed Sarah's suspicions; it was obvious the room was designed for prisoner questioning.

Directly ahead of them was a large wall size mirror, which she assumed was a one way glass. Looking over her shoulder and directly behind her chair, she noticed a metal roll shutter covering what looked to be a window of the same size and shape as the one in front of them.

This did appear somewhat strange, until she looked down. Both chairs were anchored directly to discs built into the floor. This would allow whoever controls the disc to rotate the chairs 360 degrees. This would allow the prisoners to view or be viewed from any direction.

Whoever was in the first room in the sequence would be in a position to watch multiple rooms at once. Although, each roll shutter lifted would presumably allow the prisoner in the room sequence closer to the first room, to watch as well. Little bit of an odd design considering today's technology. She dismissed the idea to comment on architectural design choices, and began studying the clasps holding her to the chair.

She needed to get out. She _needed_ to know Chuck was ok.

**Still Captured? Now I care!:**

Chuck is looking around the room. He is obviously feeling better, as his eyes appear clear and alert. Despite his predicament, he is smiling, although it's unclear whether he is even aware of it.

With his mood greatly improved, Chuck gave himself a mental pep talk and dove back to the task at hand.

_Ok Chuck. Time to figure out where you are. He had tried his new memory playback ability, but he couldn't get that tingling this time, so that meant he would have to do this the hard way. _

_Think Chuck think! What was the last __**relevant**__ thing that happened after leaving Sarah's car. _

_He remembered putting his head down on the steering wheel of the Nerd Herder. He had felt frustrated and used. He didn't even feel like going home. He thought about sleeping in the BuyMore, but that would just piss Casey and Sarah off if they couldn't find him. He was already well on his way to doing that with Sarah, no need to push it further._

_A tap on his window had startled him out of his reverie. For the briefest of moments he thought it was Sarah. It wasn't. It was the security guard for the shopping centre. He rolled down the window. "Can I help you?"_

"_I'm just doing my security sweep sir. Do you need some help? I saw you slumped over the wheel._

"_No, just a really long day. I'm fine and on my way."_

"_I'm not sure how far you'll get with that damage on the other side of the car."_

"_What!" He had jumped out of the vehicle and scrambled to the other side of the car with the guard following. _

_When he turned back to the guard to ask, "What damage are you..." The guard had a spray can held directly in front of his face. Before he could even finish his sentence to the guard, everything went black. Obviously whatever was in that spray can was some kind of knock out drug. _

_That was the last memory before waking up here. Where ever here is._

_Ok, whomever took him had to have either followed him or been waiting for him. It's fairly obvious that they waited till Sarah and Casey were out of the picture before grabbing him. That was bad. Without his handlers, he could only hope they found him before the bad guys did something nasty. That was a universal constant with bad guys. They always wanted to do something nasty. _

He began to look at his surroundings in earnest.

Chuck's wrists were bound to a chair with what looked to be large soft furry straps. The chair was well padded and very comfortable. _Weird. What kind of kidnappers where these?_

Directly in front of him is a metal roll shutter. It appears to be covering a window.

Sarah and Casey are definitely not in the room. _So where are they? Hopefully looking for him. _

_His watch! _

In an instant, his heart jumped as he realized the tracking device in his watch.

As fast as his hopes leaped up at remembering the watch, they fell faster and further, depositing rocks into his stomach when he noticed it was not on his wrist. It must have fallen off, or worse, been identified and removed as a tracking device_. _

_This was not good. Really not good._

He doesn't have his phone as that was an obvious piece of technology to strip off of him.

_Wouldn't want your captive to be placing 911 calls from the cell. With any luck Casey and Sarah will still find him before something bad happens. His hopes of that were fading fast._

As if on cue, he hears a door open on his left. A beautiful smiling brunette wearing glasses enters his room first. She looks like a guy's dream librarian, except for the coldness she exudes. Her smile does nothing to warm her attitude.

Following the brunette is a middle aged man. Chuck flashes the moment he sees him. The usual variety of nonsense pictures appear randomly, while his brain extracts the important data. A file with a tab showing 'The Doctor'. A series of different chemical plants and pharmaceutical companies. Screen shots of various bank accounts and money transfers in the 10's of millions. The names of multiple terrorist and government organizations, including notable ones like the CIA, MI6, BSIS and CSIS . Ph.D degrees in philosophy, psychology, chemistry, computer science and finance. A picture of people strapped to beds and being injected. A picture of former test subjects being dumped in mass graves.

_Oh crap. Don't freak out!_

The brunette is the first to talk (in a pleasant tone), "Ahh, I see our guest is awake. We are sorry for your current incarceration, but it was necessary. How are you feeling?"

Chuck feels that it might not be a good idea to say too much or to antagonize them. Instead, he tries to lighten the mood a bit, "Well, it's not the Hilton, and the room is a bit bare, but the chair does have some comforts. All though I can't say I'm a big fan of bondage." He wiggles his wrists as he finishes his sentence.

The Doctor responds. "A sense of humour. Very good. Always good to keep a positive attitude you know. Makes things so much easier."

They both walk to an area directly behind Chuck. Looking over his shoulder, Chuck realizes that there is computer equipment along the wall behind him. He had not noticed it before, likely due to his retrospective thinking, than anything else.

They had stopped talking while they worked at the computer. They didn't act adverse to his light tone and seem to be somewhat responsive. _Maybe this won't be so bad after all. If he can keep them talking, he might find out what is going on. Besides, it's what Charles Carmichael would do. Time to...how would Casey say it...? 'Time to cowboy up Bartowski!' Yah, that's Casey all right. _

Chuck's unconscious grin does not go unnoticed by his captors.

Chuck pushes ahead in his attempt to get some information out of them. "So, would it be too much to ask what the itinerary for me holds? I do apologize for being forward, but I like to stay on top of things. Much easier to plan out my day." Chuck flashes an easy smile in their direction.

The Brunette responds, "A gentleman as well. I like that." Her face hasn't changed since she came into the room, but her demeanor has thawed considerably. If it weren't for the current situation, she might actually be quite pleasant company.

She pauses briefly finishing her tasks, before turning and giving him her full attention, "I believe introductions are in order. My name is May, and you may call the gentleman behind you Doctor. You'll have to excuse us if we don't use our last names. Privacy reasons of course."

Chuck smiles again and graciously responds, "Of course. Very pleased to meet you although I would have preferred slightly better conditions. He moved his arms slightly to signify the tie downs. My friends call me Carmichael, Charles Carmichael but feel free to call me Charles."

The Doctor finally speaks to Chuck, "Well...(slight pause) Charles, your day depends mostly on you. We will be testing a new product and you sir, are the subject."

Another rock drops into Chuck's stomach. His next words are a little more hesitant. "Sss..Subject? Ahh...wwwha...what kind of product will you be testing?"

Doctor looks up from the computer screen. "Actually the testing has already started. We will be back for phase two shortly. Now, if you will excuse us."

He turns to May and motions with his left arm to the door. "My dear." She nods and proceeds towards the exit, with him following.

--

After the door clicks, they begin speaking in the hallway. The Doctor looks directly at May. "What do you think?"

May: "I think he is perfect. He is obviously not a hard core agent. Analyst is definitely more his style. You can see the fear in his eyes already. His attempt being cordial is kind of cute."

The Doctor smirks and raises an eyebrow, but says nothing.

May notices the look the Doctor has given her. "What? Under different circumstances, he might be an interesting change."

The Doctor looks slightly surprised. "My dear May, you do remember what we do for a living?"

May's face shows she has not forgotten and changes the subject, "Do you think he will be one of the anomalies noted in earlier testing?"

The Doctor gives May a strange look before he replies, "I have a very distinct feeling he will be but we'll know soon enough.

May: "We are running about 1 hour since the initial injection. He should start to display signs soon."

The Doctor: "Good. When he does, we will need to go to phase 2 immediately after that. Did you confirm whether the chair monitors are functioning?"

May : "Of course. Everything is proceeding to plan. His fellow workers are already in the next room and have just woken as well. Our source in the restaurant confirmed that there is some kind of personal attachment between the analyst and the woman. She was clearly teasing him at the restaurant and his reactions were very pronounced."

The Doctor: "Excellent."

May: "We brought the vehicles in with them. The woman's vehicle was located in the underground parking of the hotel and had too much surveillance to avoid, so we left it."

The Doctor: "No matter. The two vehicles obtained are sufficient. There is enough disparity between them, that the suburban will be the obvious choice.

May: "As expected both vehicles had GPS trackers on them. We have disabled them and have initiated dampening and scrambling counter measures in the loading area as an extra measure of security. There are some oddities with the smaller vehicle the analyst was driving. After we are done here, I will schedule a team to check it out."

The Doctor: "See that the suburban is set up as discussed and confirm that the facility field can be shut down at a moment's notice. We may need one or more of the agents to be found. Have you briefed the staff?"

May: "Yes. All the staff have been instructed to take whatever measures possible to provide resistance, when necessary, but any resistance given cannot be lethal to our guests..

The Doctor: "Perfect. What would I do without you May?

May (smiling): "Hire a harem?"

The Doctor raises an eyebrow and smirks but says nothing.

May (still smiling): "My good Doctor, that's why you pay me the big bucks."

The Doctor smiles in return. "Indeed. Shall we retire to the lab to monitor our guest's status?"

May: "Definitely. Besides, I'm due for another coffee."


	9. Chptr 9 Courteous Captors

A/N: Mild language warning. Mild sexual content. Nothing explicit.

**Chapter 9**

**Courteous Captors**

Camera opens about 10' in front of Sarah and Casey. They are still restrained in their chairs. Sarah is simply staring straight ahead with a blank expression on her face. Casey's head is down on his chest. He appears to be passed out or heavily drugged. The camera slowly moves closer as Casey suddenly moans. The camera moves to a close up as Sarah's eyes pivot to look at Casey.

In a low voice, "Casey! Casey! Can you hear me?"

Casey doesn't respond.

While Sarah may be outwardly calm, her mind working furiously.

_Damn it!. Come on Casey. Wake up._

Casey is still out of it. It looks like he was drugged quite heavily. She saw a small blood stain on his neck and collar of his shirt. Likely they injected him with a knockout drug. Probably figured he might put up more of a fight than her.

She had already studied the room and couldn't see any way to get out of their current predicament.

_Nothing. Not one freaking sign of anything that could be useful._

To pass the time until Casey wakes, she had begun thinking about her other problems.

_She could feel her self control slipping. She was finding it more and more difficult to maintain a cool and rational approach to anything related to Chuck's safety. She silently berated herself for breaking the rules and getting involved. This was exactly why you weren't supposed to get involved. _

_Then again maybe she should be kicking herself in the ass for not getting involved sooner, so she wouldn't be so uptight now. What the hell! Now she was arguing with herself. Damn it, she was so messed up she can't even control her own brain, let alone a relationship. What would Chuck think of her?_

_Crap. She couldn't go two freaking seconds without thinking of him. She was so screwed. Speaking of screwed... God damn it!_

Taking several deep breaths, she twisted her hands in the restraints and tried to focus on some of the things that had gone wrong...with her and Chuck.

_In the restaurant, she should've gone after Chuck. She could've tried to explain, rather than let him stew on it and make his own conclusions. Even with the icing 'incident', she could've easily diffused it by simply following him into the restroom. She __**knew**__ he would've had a different conclusion if she had. She immediately stopped thinking about what she would have done with him in the bathroom. Her mind obeyed...this time. _

_She had done similar things, albeit not for the same reasons, with CIA mission targets. It was distasteful, but none the less, she did it for the job. Now she has Chuck, and she is reluctant to do anything with him, even when she finds just the thought alone, completely enjoyable, she just can't seem to follow through. She's not sure if she still has a job issue or it's a fear of the relationship._

_She wanted to scream in frustration. She couldn't figure out anything. Not how to get out of here or to be in a relationship._

--

Without his watch Chuck didn't know how long he had been sitting in the chair. It couldn't have been that long, but man did he ache everywhere. You'd think he had been sitting for hours. To make it worse, he had to pee. He didn't want Sarah and Casey to rescue him with a stain on his pants. How embarrassing would that be?

At least he had been a little more productive with his time, since the Doctor and May had left. He had begun looking for ways out. He started by simply looking around the room for anything useful. He noticed that the door used a keypad for exit. It was easy to assume that there was another keypad for entry as well. The computers behind him were in cabinets. They had been rolled into the room and were plugged into hidden outlets. When the plug is pulled out, the little door hiding the outlet was quite good and would require above average effort to find. Unless you knew exactly where to look, you would have a hard time spotting them.

The room itself was actually quite large and rectangular. He did notice a couple of strange discs built into the floor. One on either side of him. They reminded him of lazy-susan serving platters. At one time, they did have something attached to them, as there was what looked to be 4 holes in each disc. They were in roughly the same positions as the legs of his chair. Chuck's eyes widened slightly. He did not like that thought much, especially since he was currently positioned directly over the floor drain in between the discs.

--

The Doctor: "How is he doing?"

May: "The compound is definitely active. He is becoming more restless as his pain level is obviously increasing. He does seem to be slightly resistant, although it's still unclear as to what triggers the resistance."

The Doctor: (Studying the monitors showing Chuck). "Agreed. I will need to get confirmation on my hypothesis before I can increase his dosage. Unlike the initial dose, the increase should give an immediate reaction. We will need to confirm that he is comfortable enough to eliminate localized stimuli from the testing."

Looking at May, "Are you up for a little role playing, my dear?"

May (grinning): "Of course, but I'm not sure how much role would be in the playing with this one. There is something about him that I like."

The Doctor (laughing): "Keep in mind we don't have that much time." He motions May to the door. "Well, then I think it's time to pay Charles another visit."

--

A faint click is heard as the door opened. May entered Chuck's room followed closely by the Doctor. Upon entering the room, the doctor had immediately gone to the computers behind Chuck.

May walked over to check on Chuck, gently placing a hand on his shoulder and while leaning down to look directly into his eyes.

Chuck has no where to look but directly back at her. With her eyes scanning his face and a slight smile, she speaks in a soft voice, just loud enough for Chuck to hear, "Charles, how are you doing?"

Chuck's face shows that he is confused by her shift in attitude. She feels different but he is distracted with his own problems. The pain is increasing and he is trying to not cross his legs or wiggle so that he doesn't accidently pee himself. He blurts a response to her question, "Not to impose, but is it entirely possible to use a washroom? It has been a while since I last went."

Before May can respond, the Doctor speaks loudly enough for everyone to hear, "May, will you escort him to the facilities."

May smile broadens as she slides her hand down from his shoulder dragging her fingernails lightly across his sleeved arm to the wrist strap.

Despite the building pain and the urge to pee, Chuck's eyes widen slightly as he realizes the intent behind the gentle touch. Chuck's face flushes slightly when she leans across him to undo the other strap.

Regardless of her teasing, she has removed the straps quickly. As he rises he stumbles slightly and unconsciously grabs the nearest thing to steady himself. It just happens to be a May. She doesn't seem to mind at all as she steps closer to help support him.

Realizing how stiff and shaky he is, Chuck has no choice but to let May help.

The Doctor notices the difficulty Chuck is having and he proceeds to the keypad to punch in the exit code while May helps Chuck to the door. Once the door is open and Chuck is about to exit the room, the Doctor turns to address Chuck directly.

Doctor: (Giving Chuck a serious look) "Charles, please be careful. You will be monitored closely and May is trained to handle any violence. Not that you would be silly enough to start any."

Chuck simply nods and exits the room with May. At this point, Chuck is a little more concerned what else May might be trained in. His recollection of Carina's actions in a certain hotel room was very clear and something he hoped to avoid with May.

The more they walk, the more conscious Chuck is of May's closeness. He has one arm around her shoulder, and she has her arm around his waist with the other on his chest. He has become extra sensitive to the touch of her fingernails. The upside is that the more they walk the better he feels. The pain doesn't leave but it does recede to more of a dull ache.

May leads Chuck down several hallways and through more than one keypad locked door. May has made no effort to hide the 6 digit code from him. Chuck notices that every keypad has the same 6 digit code. He makes a mental note to see if the door to his room has the same code.

After about 10 minutes of walking, Chuck feels well enough to comment on the distance, "Not to be ungrateful, but exactly where is the washroom, China?"

May let's out a gentle laugh, "Are you always this refreshing Charles?"

He gives a lopsided grin and shrugs his shoulders but doesn't speak.

May continues, "Actually, the facility we are using is temporary and only sections of it are converted. The route we have taken is for your safety. I am sorry for the delay." May emphasises how sorry she is by gently rubbing her hand on his chest.

Chuck eyes enlarge and is so focused on watching her that he jumps slightly when she speaks.

May: "We're here."

She punches the code for the door and enters. Chuck follows. They are inside a large facility washroom. Obviously the men's room as there are urinals lining the wall on one side, with enclosed stalls on the other.

Chuck approaches one of the urinals, hearing the door click closed he is surprised when he realizes that she is still in the room watching him.

Chuck: "Ahh...we are in the bathroom. Do you really need to watch me?"

May: "Yes, and if you decide to use the stall, the door stays open." She pauses slightly as a grin forms on her face. "If you need any _help _feel free to ask"

Chuck's face turns red at the thought. "I...I think I'll just stick to these." Chuck points over his shoulder at the urinals.

May doesn't move from the door until Chuck is drying his hands at the paper towel dispenser. When he turns around he finds May is standing directly behind him. So close. So _**very**_ close.

He attempts to back away but only succeeds in almost falling over the garbage can. His stumble causes May to reach out and grasp his shirt to hold him up. As he straightens up, May steps forward and pins him to the wall. Chuck looks like a deer caught in the headlights. He is frozen in place.

May uses his statuesque position to step forward and kiss him. Using one hand to hold him firmly against the wall, she lightly rakes the nails of her other hand down his chest and stopping the downward movement only when she reaches his crotch.

Chucks partial paralysis is broken by his sudden intake of breath at the ministration of her hand between his legs. With surprising swiftness and fluid like grace that surprises even him, he grasps May's shoulders and lifts her up and backwards far enough to break the kiss and allow him to step away from the wall.

May is quite astonished by his actions _and_ his strength. She is not used to being turned down and her face displays that fact.

Recognizing the face of rejection, he tries to calm her, "I'm sorry, but I can't. I...I have a girlfriend."

May lips slip into a silky smile. "That's not usually a problem. I don't think I will be telling her anything."

Looking slightly confused he states what he thought would be obvious, "Uhhhh..., _**I**_ would know. You are beautiful May but I'm not exactly available."

As an afterthought, in hopes to make the rejection less problematic, he adds with a shy grin, "Besides, I'm not exactly in the best of shape right now. Must've been sitting too long."

May studies him for a moment before she nods. "Charles, you would be an excellent catch. Hopefully we meet again under less strained circumstances." She winks and motions her arm to towards the door, indicating it was time for them to leave.

Chuck watches May on the way back. He confirms that every keypad she accesses on the way back is still using the same code. Upon reaching his room she is standing slightly in front of the keypad and he had no way to see without making it obvious.

Once inside the room, Chuck is re-seated in the chair but the straps are left off. He noticed that while he was gone, a small rolling cabinet had been brought in and the Doctor was busy loading a quick injection device, much like the ones used in his flash earlier.

The Doctor moves the table directly behind Chucks chair before speaking. "Are you feeling a little better now Charles?

Chuck tries to give a calm response. "Much better, thank you. The walk helped a bit. I think I've been sitting a little too long."

Chuck doesn't notice the look The Doctor gives to May or her responding nod.

The Doctor: "Well everything appears to be in order. We had hoped to proceed with Phase 2 but it looks like there will be a short...intermission, if you will, before we can start."

Chuck: "Intermission? Do you serve popcorn and refreshments?"

The Doctor: "Sadly no. You will notice that we have left your straps off. Please don't abuse that privilege or we will be forced to re-evaluate your end condition based on your compliance."

The Doctor appears at Chucks left side and begins to roll up his sleeve until he can see the shoulder. He swabs it with what looks to be alcohol.

Chuck (more than a little wide eyed and nervous): "That wouldn't happen to be a booster shot would it? I've had my vaccinations already and I don't think I'm due for a few more years."

The Doctor: "Oh don't you worry Charles, it's not lethal and the needle will only sting for a bit."

The whole procedure takes only a few seconds and indeed only stings a bit as he said it would. Chuck looks somewhat relieved.

The Doctor: "Well Charles. That's it. We will be back shortly. In the meantime relax.

--

The Doctor begins hammering May with questions the moment they exit the room.

For the first time the Doctor appears somewhat excited as he speaks, "What were your findings? He was obviously able to override the compound to some extent as he only complained about aches when he should be in a fair amount of agony by now."

May appears slightly bothered by the Doctors comments, but he is too self absorbed at the moment too notice. She moves to walk back to the monitoring lab, speaking as she goes, "Very light sexual stimulation seems to be enough to reduce the pain sensations to an ache. Even when I cornered him in the bathroom, it never dropped below an ache.

The Doctor: "He didn't show any reductions after intercourse?"

May (in a slightly wistful tone): "I never got that far."

The Doctor gives her an incredulous look: "Are you saying you like him too much to follow orders?"

May (with an exasperated look): "No. I'm saying I had pinned him to the wall and was proceeding quite effectively, as his body was responding. Then, out of the blue, he moved me out of the way and told me he had a girlfriend and would not go any further."

The Doctor: "So he forcibly pushed you out of the way?

May: "No. I'm saying he _moved_ me. It was very strange. He just simply picked me up and set me back down and said no. He didn't hurt me, or yell or do anything violent. Let me tell you, that was a first."

The Doctor: "Well, that is extremely interesting." He stops walking. "I don't think I will have time to accompany you. I need to re-visit our patient. In the meantime you can proceed on ahead to the lab and monitor us from there."

May: "Why the change in procedure?"

The Doctor: "I have a suspicion that the compounds effectiveness is limited by the level of personnel attachment and personality. Late in the last control group testing, it was determined that intercourse did reduce the compounds' effectiveness. Unfortunately the testing was very inconclusive because it occurred to a much lesser extent and only in some situations. Based on the makeup of the control groups, I could only theorize that some subjects had a stronger emotional attachment and were more likely to develop a partial resistance.

May: Then you suspect him to be one of the anomalies seen in the control group.

The Doctor: "Even better. I believe him to be a prime example of the worst case scenario when the compound is put in use. The control groups consisted of agents and the average married couple. I believe the groups were flawed in the population they represented. Neither the agents nor the couples actually exhibited anything deeper than mutual commonality and attraction. To complicate the issue, the people were self involved to the point that their own needs almost always outweighed their partners. Charles appears to be the exact opposite. All that remains is to determine his level of connection with the woman. Now that his dosage has been increased to 3 x the control group, we should see exactly how much resistance he has based on their connection."

May: "That would explain a lot, including his reluctance to be with me." A small sigh escapes her mouth as she turns and continues her walk to the lab. "I'll be in the lab preparing if you need me."

--


	10. Chptr 10 Interragation Room

**Chapter 10**

**Interrogation room:**

The drug had finally worn off enough and Casey woke up with a sore neck and a killer headache; lingering side effects of the dart. Sarah didn't appear to notice him waking up. She simply stared straight ahead with no change in expression.

_He was more than a little surprised to see Walker. Last he saw her, she was driving off with Chuck and it looked like a bit of a heated debate was about to start. Chucky boy did not look happy and Casey couldn't really blame him. _

_He had pulled the bone headed prank for the sole purpose of getting some kind of reaction out of Chuck and Sarah. He hadn't really expected Walker to snap and chase off the staff by going all sex agent on Chuck. Just because he didn't really approve of agent/asset relations didn't mean he disliked Chuck. Matter of fact, Chuck was sort of like mold. Sit still long enough and something will grow on you._

_Casey felt a little bad for Chuck. He knew the mixed signals Walker was sending Chuck were making him much too self conscious to enjoy Walkers sex kitten kiss. If she would just smooth out the relationship, the boy could loosen up and maybe he wouldn't drive him so crazy with his inane nattering. It was blatantly obvious that Chuck had fallen for her. Hard. Chuck spent a good portion of his free time watching her or pictures of her. It was slightly sickening to watch the love sick puppy. Walker had Chuck wound so tight it's no wonder he snapped at loud noises. _

_He was not sure what the hell was up with her when she pulled the slow finger lick. Whatever her reasons, the fact she did it, didn't really sit well with Chuck. It wasn't like Walker to do that sort of thing. She was definitely teasing Chuck, but he wasn't sure why. _

_Okay, he had an idea why. Anyone who read her file knew that her on the job ability to seduce men was exemplary. Her off duty performance was considerably less than stellar. It could be said she sucked at relationships. Matter of fact, he was watching her latest relationship fiasco unfold first hand. As it stood he fully expected her to become more idiotic as she became closer to Chuck. At least until she found stability._

_Job issues aside, he had a gut feeling that a lot of her current problems stemmed from a fear of commitment. He gave a little mental sigh. That's all he needed; a female partner wacked out on hormones and unable to commit to a relationship with her boyfriend. With all those hormones floating around with no release mechanism, it was only a matter of time._

_I guess it could be worse. She could be going through menopause. He grunted aloud at the thought._

Sarah was still lost in thought and hearing him grunt, only pointed out her level of distraction. She didn't know when Casey had woken up but at this point she didn't really care. She just needed out of here to find Chuck. "Did you see something? A way out of this mess?"

Casey pulled himself back to the current problem. "What? No." He wasn't about to tell her he was just piecing together facts of her love life to determine mental stability. He covered by playing confused, "What the hell are you doing here? I saw you drive off. When I turned back to the truck I was hit with a dart in the neck." He paused, "I didn't expect you to be here."

Casey was quiet for a moment, then asked, "Where's the package?" Casey didn't feel safe saying Chucks name.

Sarah's response was anything but confident, "I don't know."

For a moment he interpreted her reply to mean that it was unclear whether or not they captured Chuck too, but a look at her face implied a different meaning. "What do you mean you don't know? You were supposed to drop it at its destination."

Bitterness is evident in her voice, "I was instructed to drop it at the store instead. I assume it made it to its destination."

Casey's reaction is less than enthusiastic at her telling him she dumped Chuck off at the BuyMore. "What! Jesus. You can't screw up small can you? When you should listen, you don't, yet you do, when you shouldn't.

She squints her eyes at his words and spits a response, "What is _that_ supposed to mean? Are you saying I don't know how to do my job?"

"You know damn well what I mean; it concerns a certain performance and the follow up encore. Maybe if you were a little more hands on with your caring attitude, the package would be less likely to get lost. Not to mention you wouldn't be so cavalier in leaving it alone or in places it doesn't belong."

His words have a resounding ring to them. If Chuck was a mark she would have been sleeping with him, if not living with him by now. Sarah bites back a response. It was one topic she did not want to broach, especially with Casey.

He noticed that she had stopped responding and he had a pretty good idea why. He voiced what she wouldn't, "Walker, we've been doing it since the dawn of mankind. How do you screw simple stuff like that up?"

Casey didn't have to hear her response to know. Her face was full of guilt, worry and indecision.

Damn it. He needed her thinking clearly and his berating her wasn't going to help her get back in the right frame of mind to get them out of here. Casey grunted and tried to make the best of the situation, "Well don't get yourself all wound up. We'll check on the package when we're out of here. Now... how did they get you?"

She appeared relieved for the change of subject. Dealing with the job was a heck of a lot easier than talking about relationships, especially when you're getting lectured by the freaking robot, Casey. "They were waiting when I entered the hotel lobby. I didn't even see them until they hit me.

You've been out for some time. I figure it's about mid-afternoon. I woke up a couple of hours ago. So far we've been left alone. Our captors seem hospitable at this point in time. The guards have been in to check on us about once an hour. They even let me have a bathroom break and water a couple of times. The bathroom is across the hall, by the way.

As for the room, it looks pretty secure. Obviously they will be watching our every move through the mirrored glass and likely hidden camera's. Other than the drain in the middle of the floor, and the keypad by the door, I haven't seen anything of use or interest. I think we're stuck until our captors make a move."

Casey grunted in agreement. All they could do now is wait.

--

Shortly after the Doctor and Mary left, the pain has started ramping up. It was much worse than before. It was like he used every muscle and joint in his body to well past its ability. He suspected it was a side effect of the drug they gave him.

He half hoped that they would be back soon. They had left him untied, but they didn't say he was allowed to wander around the room. He wanted, no he _needed_ to get up and walk around but without some kind of explicit permission he wasn't really in the mood to piss them off.

The door opened abruptly. It was as if they were reading his mind. God that thought sent a shiver down his spine. He really hoped that they couldn't read his mind. At this point the Intersect was probably the only thing that could help save him until Sarah and Casey came for him.

The Doctor entered the room alone this time. He was watching Chuck closely, not that Chuck really noticed. Beads of sweat were forming on Chuck's head and he had begun to unconsciously fidget. The Doctor felt a sense of accomplishment; he had correctly guessed Chuck's response to the increase in dosage. Now he could move forward in his testing. "Charles. Good news, I believe we are ready to begin. I notice you seem to be a bit uncomfortable. Are you all right?

Chuck, his voice somewhat strained, "I'm in a bit of pain. It wouldn't have anything to do with that shot you gave me would it?"

The Doctor thought for a moment before he replied, "Charles, I'm going to be honest with you. The shot is definitely causing you the pain. Don't worry, I expect it to be a pass soon. I can't say that it won't come back, but either way, it should be out of your system shortly after testing is complete."

Chuck is trying to focus on what the Doctor is saying. The only words he really cared about were _after testing is complete_ which prompted him to ask, "And when will the tests be done?"

The Doctor saw no reason to lie, "Charles, you can expect the drug to last for approximately 36 hours. As for the tests; well, we monitor psychological events in people. You are part of an experiment. If you cooperate you will be released upon completion. If you do not co-operate, people will be harmed. Who, will be apparent shortly.

We have set up a sequence of events to evaluate responses. What response we will be evaluating is not important. We will begin now."

The Doctor rolled the computer desk towards the window. Within seconds he had repositioned it slightly in front of and to Chucks right, easily close enough for Chuck to see everything the Doctor was doing.

The Doctor punched in a username and password and the computer screen snapped to life. Graphical boxes popped onto the screen. He tapped the one that said rolling shutter. The metal barrier protecting the window sprang to life and began to move up into the ceiling.

As the shutter slowly rolled up, Chuck saw a room similar to his, but more barren. Two things caught his eyes and caused his mouth to drop and eyes to enlarge. Sarah and Casey were in the center of the room secured to steel bound chairs directly in front of him. His pain slipped away from him like forgotten memory while his mind was focused on the view before him.

Things had gone from bad to worse. From what they were wearing, it looked like they had been grabbed about the same time as Chuck was. It was obvious that they were unable to see through the glass. They were looking around. Probably looking for a way out.

The Doctor stepped over to the computer. He touched the microphone icon on screen and spoke. Chuck noticed that there was a small microphone image at the top of the LCD monitor.

The Doctor: "Welcome. I hope you have enjoyed your stay. I do apologize for the method in which you were acquired, but we didn't think you would come willingly."

Sarah and Casey reacted to the voice and looked directly at the glass. They didn't look happy.

We will be performing some simple tests. One of our staff will be bringing in some equipment to help facilitate testing.

Almost immediately, the door to Sarah and Casey's room opened. A masked man wheeled in a reasonably sized stainless steel cart loaded with what looked to be a lot of deadly tools. The cart held everything from simple scalpels and bone saws, to more exotic curved drill like devices.

Chuck felt like throwing up. Sarah and Casey tried to hold a professional detachment on their face, but in the sight of all that _equipment_ up close, you could tell they were having a hard time.

The Doctor spoke into the microphone. "We will begin shortly." He touched the microphone icon to turn it off and turned to address Chuck. "Charles, feel free to wander around the room to alleviate any discomfort you have. I will be back shortly to continue discussing the options available. Chuck hardly noticed the Doctor's exit. He was too engrossed in watching Sarah and Casey study the cart before them.

It took him a moment to realize the Doctor was gone. Chuck began to look around the room for a way out. The keypad! He ran to try Mary's code on the door. It didn't work. He went to the computer the Doctor had been using. Before he could begin, he thought he heard someone. That was when he realized he could hear them in the next room. The Doctor had turned off the microphone, but not the speakers.

--

Casey has an odd look on his face. Not quite sad look, but more disappointed one. "I was hoping to go a little faster. Maybe a bullet to the heart or head. Or blown up. That would be ok too. How about you?"

Sarah ignored his banter. "Have you come up with a way out yet?

Casey raised an eyebrow and looked at her. "What do you think? I'm talking about way's I'd prefer to die. I thought that would be a big clue right there."

Sarah sounding a little desperate, "We need to get out of here. We have to find out if they have Ch...if he's...ok. I need...I need...". Her voice trailed off and her head drooped towards her chest. She needed to know Chuck was all right, but she couldn't say it. Especially in here. She might jeopardize him further.

Casey watched her attempts to speak with an almost ghostly detachment. She was starting to come unhinged. It wasn't hard to know what she was thinking. She was pretty transparent when she was stressed about Chuck. "Look Walker, the locks on our chairs are magnetic. Probably the same as the discs under the chairs. I would assume they are controlled by the room behind the mirror. We aren't going anywhere. At least until they haul our lifeless bodies out of here."

Sarah had heard enough of his depressive talk. Her head snapped up as she yelled: "Shut the hell up!"

Casey snapped back just as fast, "Agent up already. These people aren't playing. No one knows where we are. We are in an unfamiliar facility, locked in a room with restraints that can't be picked or opened by a key. Face it. We cannot get out of here short of a miracle. From where I sit, I'd say it was a fun run but we're meat."

--

Watching them through the window Chuck could see the light die in her eyes. She knew Casey was right. No miracle, no help, no life. Anger bubbled up in Chuck. Just because they believed it doesn't mean he is going to let it happen.

--


	11. Chptr 11 Get Out of Jail Card

**Chapter 11**

**Get Out of Jail Card:**

The Doctor, holding a cell phone to his ear, was casually leaning against the wall outside of Chuck's room. Mary's voice drifted out of phone, "His vitals have shifted again. It should be ok to enter."

The Doctor hung up and punched the door code to enter the room.

Charles showed no signs of his earlier drug induced discomfort; his resistance to the compound appeared to be functioning exactly as expected.

The Doctor's extensive background in psychology, made it was easy to assess the room and reasons for the current drug suppression with a simple glance from Chuck to those on the other side of the glass.

It was definitely time to move forward in testing. "It does appear that your friends find the situation somewhat hopeless. I believe the time has come for phase 2 Charles."

Chuck had a hard time controlling his voice. Aggravation and anger at the situation leaked out of his voice as he spoke, "Phase 2? What does that mean, and what do you plan on doing with them?"

A slight smile flickered on the Doctors face as he spoke, "Charles, I need them to leave the installation. I cannot release them...directly. You will have to figure out a way to do it on your own...for the most part."

Chuck did a double take before he looked at the Doctor like he was crazy. Disbelief was evident in his voice, "You're...you're saying you want me to help my friends escape from here?

The fact that he called them friends instead of co-workers, was not lost on the Doctor. "That is correct."

_Now Chuck was really confused. What kind of game was this nut job playing?_ "Uhh, not be an ungrateful prisoner or devil's advocate, by why not let them go yourself? Matter of fact, why kidnap them at all if you plan on releasing them?"

Doctor: "I'm sorry Charles, I can't answer your questions. Be aware that this is a time limited offer. You will have approximately one hour to facilitate their release, during which time they will not be harmed. You have my word. If they try to get you out, they will be required to stay in the facility."

He could see the confused look pass over Chucks face as he processed the information.

Chuck hesitantly asked for clarification, "So...it's me or them?"

Good, the Doctor thought. His timid question was indicative of an upcoming decision. He already knew what decision Charles would make and treated the question as rhetorical. Rather than answering he began listing the guidelines, such as they were, "The rules are simple Charles. You have to get your friends out or we will be forced to keep them here. You can use whatever means is necessary to free them, provided you don't leave the room. We will provide whatever you feel is logical to make them leave."

Chuck pushed the absurdity of the situation out of his mind and thought for a moment before he spoke. "Then I will need access to our cell phones."

Instead of denying Chuck, he simply nodded and proceeded to put on a small headset he had pulled from the desk seconds earlier. He spoke into the headset microphone, "Mary, can you send in the cell phones from our guests."

--

The camera flashed to Mary sitting at the monitors in the lab as she responds to the Doctor. You can see the Doctor on the monitors and hear his responses through the speakers in the lab.

As Mary watches on the monitors, she takes the time to update the Doctor via the headset. "I have other information for you. The other two agents were discussing a package earlier. They were somewhat argumentative over the topic in regards to the woman's diligence in her care of the package. They made sure to avoid calling him by name or even state that it was a person, but I have a feeling it was definitely Charles they were discussing. From the way they conversation was handled one could infer that he is more important than we realize."

_The Doctor smiled at how close Mary was to the truth. Little did his lovely assistant realize how many different projects he was working on with Charles._ He kept his voice neutral as he replied back, "Anything else?"

Mary: "I've reviewed the cell phone logs and data. From the way they spoke and looking at the pictures stored on their phones, the woman we are holding is his girlfriend, Sarah."

Doctor: "Excellent. It appears initial reports from our staff on were right on target. Inform me when the men arrive with the phones."

Chuck is only partially listening to the Doctors conversation with most of his attention focused on getting his friends out of here.

_He knows Sarah and Casey won't want to leave if they know he is also being held. The first thing he needed to do was convince them he was at safe at home. _

_More specifically, he needed to convince Sarah. He figured he could use the phones to do that. He had to somehow imply he was at home or work. Maybe a text message to Casey would be the best method for that. It occurs to him that the captors have likely reviewed the phone's contents, including all stored pictures and text. He doesn't erase text messages. While he doesn't text mission stuff anymore, mainly because he already got in trouble for that, the logs would include date invites. _

_Chuck's brain suddenly lit up as the proverbial puzzle pieces suddenly start dropping into place. _

_He began recalling facts about his incarceration. _

_The Doctor referred to this as an experiment. He had a background in psychology and chemicals. _

_The stark contrast between his comfortable chair and easy conversations he had with the captors versus the room and chairs his teammates were in. He somehow doubted they had any interesting conversations with anyone. _

_Mary's switch in behaviour from her initial cold demeanour to her suddenly amorous one. _

_The Doctor's reference to phases and now the push to get him to find a way to release his friends._

_Inspiration struck him like a hammer. If he had to guess, he would say he was a guinea pig for the tests and his friends were there as extra modifiers to the response. He was no psych major like this nut job but, this was like some kind weird Pavlovian test or something. The Doctor is monitoring my response to stimuli... but for what end? His brain fired off a response before he could finish asking himself._

_The injection. It's an experimental compound. _

_The chemical causes some kind of reaction and the Doctor is monitoring what responses affect it. Knowing what the Doctor is doing doesn't do anything to help him. All he can do is play along like a rat in a maze._

The Doctor finished up his conversation with Mary. "Charles the phones have arrived." As he spoke a man arrived with a small box. The Doctor took the box and placed it on the nearest desk. Out of it he pulled the three cell phones. "Which phones do you need Charles?"

Chuck knew what to do. "I will need all three phones. Have you reviewed the phone logs and data?"

The Doctor raised his eyebrows, unsure of where his captor was going with the questions. "We have."

Chuck sucked in air for a deep breath before he nodded and spoke with more confidence than he felt, "Then you have probably figured out my girlfriend is sitting in the other room."

The Doctor could deny it, but he saw no purpose in doing so. They were holding all the cards, so to speak. "We have surmised that as a likely possibility."

Chuck displayed a very calm face for someone in his situation. Inside he was scared to death, but he knew what to do and that helped give him the strength to proceed. "Give me a moment to prepare". He spends a minute going through both agent phones to delete recent calls incoming and outgoing.

Chuck picks up his phone and places a call to Sarah's phone first, waiting till the voice message picks up before he speaks in a somewhat up beat voice. "Hey Sarah. I understand if you don't want to talk to me, but I just wanted to apologize for last night. You must be pretty mad, as you haven't picked up all day. Please call before I slip into my stalker mode. I have to head into work. Maybe we you can meet me for dinner break or after work?" Chuck hangs up and auto dials Casey.

Chuck notices the Doctor give him a strange glance at what he said, but he ignores him. After hanging up he calls Casey. "Hey big guy. Ummm... sorry about ruining your party last night. Anyway, I kind of blew things with Sarah. I've been trying to get a hold of her for the last few hours and she isn't answering my calls. She might be a little mad at some things I said last night. Just making sure everything is good." Chuck pauses for a moment before continuing. "Oh, before I forget, Big Mike called me in for a shift. It starts in ½ hour so I'll be at work if anything comes up or you talk to Sarah."

After hanging up, he speaks to the Doctor, "I need someone to take them their phones. Tell them you have reviewed and deleted all calls and messages, but someone named Chuck keeps calling and sending messages so frequently he is becoming an annoyance. Tell them that you would disable the phones, but that might alert others, therefore it would be in their best interest to find a way to get "Chuck" to stop contacting them. For his safety and theirs."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows at Chuck's requests, but simply nods and makes the appropriate arrangements using the headset.

Within a couple of moments a henchman enters the adjacent chamber with the cell phones. The Doctor activates the room speaker and reiterates the instructions Chuck gave. As the Doctor is speaking he accesses the computer to release the magnetic lock on one of their hands. This is the moment chuck has been waiting for. While the Doctor is preoccupied with speaking and typing, Chuck is watching him log in with his password and paying particular attention to the how he shut down the magnetic restraints.

Within seconds both agents check their phones. Casey listens to his first. Afterward he simply nods to Walker. Sarah listens to hers with a little more emotion. A small half laugh/half sob escapes from her at the end of the message.

The Doctor watches her with interest and waits till she is done reading before speaking into the microphone. "I would suggest that you send a text response to stop any further contact."

Casey looks at Walker and nods again. He hands his phone back to the henchman. Sarah immediately begins typing.

She hits send and hands the phone back to the henchman.

Chucks phone beeps a moment later. He checks the message, not caring if the Doctor would allow him to or not.

_Txt Msg: Sarah: I haven't been ignoring. Remember Xmas, I'm not good at it. Can't talk right now. I am tied up. I will speak with you later. Please forgive me._

Chuck's lips tighten and he feels his chest constrict as he reads the message. Even now, she is trying to tell him everything is ok, although he is not sure if she is asking forgiveness for the lie in speaking with him later or for the relationship problems, or both. At this point, he prefers to believe it's for both.

The Doctor leaned forward to speak into the microphone, "Leave them." The guard exited the room with the phones. Looking at Chuck, he holds out his hand. Chuck hands him the phone.

"Very good Charles. Interesting choice in using the phones...and my cooperation, of course. It's a relatively simplistic way to ensure they aren't going to hesitate in escaping.

The Doctor leaves Chuck to think on his next move, while he exits the room with the wireless headset still on and checks in with Mary.

--

The Doctor begins without any preamble as he knows the headset was 'live' the entire time, "When you took our guest out for his bathroom break, I take it he saw the door codes?"

Mary: "Most definitely. He did try to get a glimpse of his room code as well but I blocked it. As you suspected, he is not trained to spot deception very well."

The Doctor chuckles. "Are their escape routes open and ready?"

Mary: "The staff is putting the finishing touches on the suburban for phase 4. We did a more detailed check on the smaller vehicle and found some kind of enhanced equipment hidden in it. There is a possibility of it being trapped so I pulled the team off of it for now. We will have to look at later. In the mean time we have moved it far enough away to keep it from being damaged."

The Doctor: "Fine. We will need to make sure he is prepared for Phase 3. Have the staff position a getaway vehicle outside the auxiliary tunnel for Phase 3. I've only set aside another 30 minutes to get them out.

Mary: "The phase 3 vehicle was just moved into position. Is the emergency manual in the desk?"

The Doctor: "I placed it in myself while you were taking our guest on his extended tour.

The Doctor looks at his watch. "Well then, I see we are right on schedule."

Mary: "You don't think he will find an escape manual a bit odd?"

The Doctor: "At this point, as smart as he may be, he's very inexperienced. Senior field staff in his line of work would refer to him being as green as you can get. I don't think he's ever been trained for any active duty. Probably hardly ever leaves his cubicle. Besides, he appears to be very organized. Probably thinks it's a good idea for secret facilities to have escape routes in case of fire or emergency. I'd be willing to bet he finds it odd that it isn't posted on the wall."

They both have a laugh over the thought.

--

Chuck was more than a little nervous. He had kept up a fairly confident front for the Doctor, but once he left the room, his face returned to a more natural one filled with fear and anxiety. He had hopefully removed himself from the equation in getting his friends out, but he still had to actually find a way to free them.

In his desperation, he began to rifle through the computer cabinet drawers looking for whatever could be useful. The first drawer was filled with files, but nothing of interest to him.

The second drawer was miscellaneous office supplies. Pens, paper, empty folders, note pads and other non essentials. The third drawer down held an emergency manual.

Jackpot!

The pages were neatly organized by tabs. Each tab corresponding to a specific event. Earthquake, fire, toxic spill and hostile infiltration. His eyes bug out a bit at the name on the last tab. The first couple of pages of each tab, held detailed escape maps of the facility based on the situation. Chuck was actually quite impressed at the clarity of the manual. It was much better than the simple duotang emergency manual that the BuyMore used. Heck, this one even had the pages laminated to protect against water damage.

Chuck gave himself a quick shake. He could contemplate manual design after he got Sarah and Casey out of here.

He opened the manual and checked the index for general facility maps. It took only a few seconds of looking to find his location and determine what he had to do. The labelling in the corridors on his bathroom walk was a crucial factor in helping figure out where they were. Not to mention that it was kind of easy to find the rooms with the one way windows on the maps.

According to the manual there was a drainage system running under most of these rooms. It would be a bit tight but they should be able to move through it easily enough. The first smaller section ran for about 50', where it opens to standing height for another 20' or so before exiting the rear of the facility.

The access hatch to the drainage system was underneath one Lazy Susan discs the chairs were mounted to. He just had to release the magnetic lock on the disc and it would swing up for access to a ladder down to the drain system. The route was fairly straight forward. They would be outside in within a few of minutes of entering the drainage system.

Once outside they could get help and come get him. Hopefully before the bad guys found out.

A small voice in his head told him that it was unlikely help would come in time, especially considering he lied to get them out of the facility. They wouldn't even know he was in there, until it was too late. Chuck ignored the voice. It was probably not a good idea to freak himself out anymore than he already is.

A sudden influx of multiple emotions flowed through him. He might not see Sarah again. Thoughts of her quietly crying during the rooftop extraction, floated back to the surface of his mind. He thought he wouldn't see her again then, either. He had trouble holding his emotions in check in front of Longshore. He knew his own face had become a scramble of emotions and pain at seeing her tough agent exterior break down. Even now, he wanted to see the emotional Sarah, instead of the ever calm agent.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath to steady himself and clear his mind. It was time to step up and get them out before the crazy Doctor trapped them here too.

He now had the means to get them out, he just had to figure out how to convince them it was a good idea and not a trap.

He rolled his eyes and let out a rush of air. Piece of cake he told himself.

He ignored the little voice in his head screaming otherwise.

--


	12. Chptr 12 Release

**Chapter 12**

**Release:**

Chuck had wasted the last 2 minutes pacing back and forth in front the computer. He had seen the Doctor's user name and password. The problem was that he didn't know if the Doctor let him see it or it was an honest mistake. This was looking more and more like one big elaborate experiment. If he did something wrong, it might get Sarah...and Casey, killed.

Unfortunately, he didn't really have many options at this time. He looked back at the computer and watched as the curser slowly blinked at him. All he could do was try. He just hoped it was enough to save Casey and Sarah.

As he reached to press the keys, he feels a familiar sensation of tingling course through his body. His hands freeze as his mind remembers the last time he had the feeling.

It was in here! When he first awoke after being captured he had felt tingly all over and was able to recall memories of Sarah with exacting detail and control. His eyes unconsciously flick to the glass and the figures seated on the other side. He knows he can still pull those memories, but it doesn't seem like he needs to. It's different this time. He doesn't know how, but it just feels different.

He can't quite figure it out and he has no time to waste. He decides he has to continue with his current task, hoping that he figures it out later.

Chuck types in the Doctors login information and password. It provides him access to a screen filled with simplistic graphical boxes. Each box designating a section or area of importance in relation to the facility he is currently in.

After watching the Doctor use the computer he knows that the screen is touch sensitive. He gently taps the security box. It asks for another password and user ID. He retypes the Doctors information but is denied access. After retyping it twice and failing both times, he figures it must have a different password setting. The tingling sensation surges through him again. This time he was positive it was not about Sarah, but something to do with the computer. On a hunch, he thinks about security access and passwords.

His memory jumps to and pauses on a computer class in Stanford. The professor was discussing various operating systems and the different methods of security.

Chuck is confused. Not by the new ability resurfacing the way it did, but on why this particular memory was chosen. The class was good, but much too basic for this ...Chuck's thoughts are interrupted by a sudden blurring of his vision.

Suddenly his memory was in motion, stopping at a point in time he doesn't remember but can clearly see in his thoughts. He is dumbfounded as he recalls memories that are not his. The memories show several advanced security methods for different operating systems. Everything from the creation, the testing and the dissection of said security. Each method shown is stronger than the last, but ultimately cracked.

Another memory appears. This time he is watching hacking and cracking methods being created from the ground up on several different devices. Everything from computers and cellular phones, to iPods and smaller devices.

When Chuck finally refocuses his eyes back on the computer he is filled with a new confidence. He is also somewhat shaken by the experience, more so when he realizes that less than a minute has passed. At least according to the clock on the computer.

He takes a moment to steady himself, slowly drawing in a few deep breaths, his eyes flicking to where Sarah sits on the other side, while he tries to calm himself. When he refocuses on the screen, he sees a box that he hadn't noticed before. One of the icons is simply labelled Magnetic Controls. His mouth drops open slightly as he re-evaluates what he knows.

He might be over thinking their escape.

It appears likely the Doctor let him see the login information. The Doctor wouldn't give him access to the Security section, but Chuck is willing to bet he has access to the Magnetic Controls.

He's no agent but his eyes squint slightly as he has a gut feeling it might be better to play the Doctors game and hold off on using any of his new security override stuff until really needs it. Maybe after they are safely out of here.

Chuck touched the Magnetic Controls Icon. The current graphics fade out and a new graphical map of the holding cells appears in its place.

Here goes, he thought, as he selected the room holding Sarah and Casey and touched the restrain release button.

--

Casey and Sarah both heard the clicks. The restraints had opened.

Looking at each other they stood up. Casey was the first to respond, "What the hell?"

Sarah jumped at the cart and grabbed some weapons while holding one eye towards the door to watch for personnel coming to stop them.

Casey grabbed a couple of the larger slashing weapons. He grinned widely, his eyes slightly wild in their intensity. "Looks like it's not our time to die. You might actually get to apologize after all, Walker."

Sarah had already run to the keypad at the door. She paused in her examination of the keypad to turn towards Casey, obviously confused at his request for an apology. "What?"

Casey, with his grin still plastered on his face, "Oh, not for me, but for your little wonder bread boy and the finger licking good icing."

If expressions could kill, Casey would be dead several times over from piercing glare exuded from Sarah's eyes. In deadly calm voice she pronounced each word with icy venom, "We need a code. Did you see them use one when they left?"

Casey chuckled at her stare and responded to the question, "No. They blocked the view."

--

Chuck watched and heard the banter between them. His ego puffed up a little when he heard Casey tell her she could apologize to for the restaurant. He was just as quick to squish the ego back into place. He had already thought the whole thing through and knew it was more his fault than hers. She screwed up on something he knew she was not good at. He had made it much worse by being a jerk and over reacting. There was nothing for her to apologize for.

Smiling he activated the magnetic lock release for the Lazy Susan disc.

--

The agents heads snapped around to stare at the disc under the chair Casey had been sitting in seconds ago. They had heard metallic snaps as the locks holding the disc released, then watched as it rose a few inches from the floor and pivoted to the left like a manhole cover on a pin hinge.

The agents peered down the hole. It wasn't hard to see their expressions of surprise as they noticed the small ladder leading down to a 4' high tunnel.

Chuck closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This next part had to go just right. If Sarah knew he was here, she would try to save him and likely get captured and tortured and killed along with Casey. He needed them to bring help. He had a better chance of getting out.

There was no way to get out of this room. He had tried the code on the door and it didn't work and the emergency manual didn't cover escape from his room. He couldn't even go through the window mirror. From his side, he could see that the window was at least an inch thick. He doubted it was even 'normal' glass. He could hack the computer, but he had already decided against that.

No, he needed them to escape.

He would have to use the microphone. He knew it was distorted enough to cover the voice from being recognized. He had heard it echo back through the speakers, at one point, before the Doctor had turned the speaker volume down.

Taking a deep breath, he began, "You need to leave by way of the underground tunnels. You have to hurry. I don't know how much longer before they get back."

Casey responded, "Who is this and why should we believe you."

Chuck wasn't sure how to respond to that exactly, when another tingling sensation ran through him. This time it was a memory of agents performing dead drops. A simple and highly compartmentalized method of passing information using predetermined locations. Behind a loose building brick in some deserted alley or in a garbage can at specific location. Generally the agent had only one contact, his controller.

Thinking on his feet, and drawing on his recent memories with a liberal use of content from movies and games, Chuck began speaking quickly. "The name is Barton. Charles Barton. MI6 at your disposal."

Casey grunts. "And how exactly did you end up here?"

Chuck's brain is running in overdrive as he watches them through the window. Casey has a slight sneer on his face and Sarah's head is tilted slightly, as if she is thinking something through. He had to make this fast before they catch on.

Chuck applies his new knowledge and a good helping of British slang to the reply, "I'm still not quite sure why they captured me. I was performing a simple "dead drop" when I was hit from behind. I'm technically not even in active service. I had an accident with some email a few months ago and it got me in a right bit lot of hot water. I say, it's not like I have any access to important British intel. Neither of my controllers shows an ounce of respect for me either. I guess I'm more of a Nancy boy than they are used to. Probably why they restricted my use of the Walther PPK. Bloody hell, if it doesn't get me thinking that I'm just a duffer."

Chuck knew he had been rambling a bit in his overly lengthy explanation, but he figured it might fit better anyway. He was talking on the fly and he is supposed to be a Nancy boy. He grinned to himself in spite of the situation.

Sarah seemed to shrug off her thinking cap and asked, "Ok, so if you're who you say you are, how do we get out of here?"

Breathing a small sigh of relief he begins to describe their escape route. "The drainage tunnel below the chair is about 4' high and will lead directly outside. If you follow the tunnel for about 50' it will open up into a larger portion for the last little ways. When you come back with help, try using the code 690627 for the doors. It should open most of them on this level, although be careful when using the code. What gets you into a room, might not get you out."

Casey began moving towards the ladder when Sarah spoke, "Is there anyone else being held in this facility?"

Chuck knew what she was really asking, but he couldn't say it was him or she would not leave. He tried to slip into a more commanding Bond voice, "Negative. To my knowledge the facility is clean. You were the only acquisitions other than myself. Now do hurry. They seem more interested in experimentation with me than with torture. That may change quickly."

When they were out of sight, he reset the locks, put away the handbook and tried to return everything he moved back to its original position. He did find some information on a few emergency override door codes but he didn't want to try them, lest he needs them for when Sarah and Casey come back.

Ok, he _hoped _they would come back. At least they seemed to buy his cheesy British talk. Unfortunately, he had a suspicion it was more likely a result of the distortion device than any usage of his British slang.

He had tried to leave them clues as to who was actually speaking, but if they caught them, they didn't give any indication. This was a good thing anyway, as he needed them to leave _then _come back with help. He could do nothing but wait.

After what seemed like forever he looked at the clock on the computer. About 20 minutes had passed since they had entered the tunnel. The Doctor should be back shortly. Sarah and Casey should be well outside the facility by now. Hopefully they have found a way to call in a strike team. He felt better knowing they were safely on their way. He could breathe easy now that they were out of danger.

As he looked around the room eyes flicked across the torture equipment in the next room. That stuff gave him the willies. It looked like it would really hurt.

Speaking of hurt. The excitement must be catching back up to him as the pain he forgotten about was coming back full force. Everything really hurt and he hadn't even been tortured. At least not yet.

--

Mary and The Doctor watched the monitors in the lab.

Mary was the first to break the silence, "His resistance to the drug is amazing. The data being recorded is off the scales in some areas. His discomfort is evident now that his co-workers are out of their dangerous situation."

The Doctor verbalizes what they both see, "Apparently his concern for himself is not enough to suppress the drug completely. Interesting. We will wait until his friends have a reasonable distance from the facility."

Mary: "Fine. I am curious. How did you know the analyst would attempt to sacrifice himself to save the others?"

The Doctor: He may be green, but he seems to have all the characteristics of a good agent. Just not trained. He also seems to have the characteristics of a good person. Self sacrifice seems to be a part of his nature. Hero material, if you will." He chuckles.

"Sometimes even the desk jockeys have it. Just never in a position to use it. A shame really."

--


	13. Chptr 13 Programming, A 2nd Language?

**Chapter 13**

**Programming, A Second Language?:**

The scene opens with the camera behind and above Chuck by a few feet. He is standing in front of the computer typing. The camera swings to the front of Chuck. He appears to be in quite a bit of pain. His jaw is tight, forcing his lips into a grimace as he is typing. He seems to be swaying slightly on his feet. His is obviously having trouble focusing as he is squinting and blinking a lot. Beads of sweat have formed on his forehead.

Chuck had logged back into the computer system using the Doctors login ID. He was going to wait to see if Sarah and Casey would come back before attempting to hack the system. Unfortunately he was feeling pretty bad and getting worse by the minute. Rather than wait any longer he figured it might be a good idea to try now, while he was still mobile and could think.

It hadn't taken him more than a few seconds to determine that they were using a proprietary operating system. The upside was that it had been built on a recent version of Linux. He figured even bad guys liked free stuff, hence their use of Linux. He had been able to bypass the security control passwords by using undocumented keystroke commands that were built into the very core of the operating system.

He corrected himself. Ok, not documented for public or commercial use but available to him, thanks to the CIA and NSA.

In a couple of seconds he was able to bring up the command line interface. The fancy term for what looked like an old DOS window. Once the blinking command prompt appeared, he could use it to access the system core, or _kernel_ as it was called by the technical community. By getting control of the system kernel directly he could create his own extensions or mini programs. Easy as pie he thought. Little did he realize that his painful grimace had been replaced by a small grin.

It only took a few moments to build the necessary mini programs that he could execute with simple keystrokes. He had also created a new login using his name and a password. With it, he would be able to log into the whole system later for complete access. He had hardened the security system and encrypted his data and programs to ensure no one else could find it unless they knew exactly where to look and had the tools to attempt to crack it.

Chuck finished up and started logging out of the system. The next thing he needed to do was get them back in here. He couldn't wait any longer for them. He had to know what their next move was; preferably before he _couldn't _move anymore.

He was beginning to find it hard to concentrate and stand. His heart was racing as he tried to stay standing while he finished. He worked his way back out of the areas he was in and shut that down. He didn't want them to find the hacks he made. While modifying the system, he noted that there were several system alarms set to go off if someone penetrated specific areas.

All he had to do was hack the one of those areas and that would alert them. He would make it easy for them to trace it back to him and force them to check on him.

The camera pans back out from Chucks face and he is sweating profusely and looks like he is about to throw up then the scene fades to black.

--

Camera opens back up with Mary and the Doctor talking in the lab. Mary is sitting with her back to the monitors sipping on coffee while, the Doctor is pacing back and forth.

They're interrupted by a loud beeping coming from the computer. Mary spins back to the computers and begins typing on the keyboard. The beeping stops.

"What is that?, asked the Doctor.

"Someone has breached our security system", replied Mary as she types. "I have turned off the audible alarm."

The Doctor is astonished, as they are functioning under the radar of all the known agencies. "Who is it?", he demanded.

A flicker of annoyance crosses Mary's face. If she knew she would have said already, instead she responds with, "Checking now."

It is a couple of minutes before she pin down the source. The individual is fairly good at hiding. Suddenly the location pops out at her. It's coming from inside the building. More specifically, from inside their facility network.

Mary's surprise is evident in her words, "Holy shit, its Charles! He's hacked the system in his room and already through the first 2 levels of firewall security."

The Doctor's eyebrows rise slightly at hearing the news. _Maybe he should've asked for more money. _"What? It was my understanding that he was only an analyst."

Mary, "I'm not sure what he is trying to accomplish, but he has broken through the firewall. Maybe he is trying to get outside access. Either way, you should probably get back there. I will try to slow him up here."

The jog back to Charles room was less than pleasant. The Doctor had downplayed his reaction to Mary's astonishment at Charles hacking their network. In reality he had completely underestimated his prisoner. He seemed like such a textbook analyst. He had potential, but was undervalued and lacking confidence. Nonetheless, it was unrealized potential and that made him pretty much useless. He was beginning to think that maybe he shouldn't have taken their information at face value. He would have to re-evaluate fault later. Right now he needed to get the situation back under control and fast.

The schedule set was very exacting and any deviations must be handled quickly or the data collected would be ineffective. When he released Charles later it wouldn't be an issue, but for now, he needed to be under control or he would ruin everything.

--

After the Doctor left, Mary began redirecting Chucks hacking attempts from the firewall. After a couple of redirects she realized that he wasn't actually hacking any specific target. He was simply triggering the alarms. This surprised her. Why would he want to activate an alarm? As she thought she swung her view from the monitor displaying computer code, to the ones displaying Chuck from different angles.

It took only a glance for her to figure out what was going on. He was calling them for help. He looked terrible and could barely stand. She wondered how he was even able to type, having seen victims of the drug first hand, let alone ones with a triple dose in them.

A pang of remorse and guilt swept through her. Normally she was cold and aloof, but something about Charles seemed to bring out her softer side. Then there was the Doctor observations and comments about Charles. This mission was different than the others. The Doctor was hiding information from her and it wasn't a little bit, but something big was going on. She hadn't quite figured out what he was up to yet, but she would. Looking back at Charles she made a decision.

Without a second thought, she sent a text message to Chuck on the computer.

/Charles – the Doctor is on his way back. ETA about 2 mins. Be careful. Mary.

She could only hope Charles was smart enough to log out.

On past jobs, the Doctor had been known to terminate all the prisoners and take a loss, simply because the data was corrupted due to scheduling problems. She preferred that it did not happen in this case; she really did like Charles.

--

Chuck was about to log out when he saw the message from Mary. At this point it didn't really matter. He had accomplished what he wanted...he got their attention. Without thinking he automatically replied, almost as a thank you.

/My friends call me Chuck.

He was a bit surprised that Mary sent him the message, but he was in enough pain that he couldn't really be bothered to think about anything other than sitting down. He just couldn't stand any longer.

He finished with the computer, logged out and stumbled over to his chair; falling into, rather than sitting on it.

--

**The Call:**

The Doctor entered the room slightly winded. It had been a long time since he had done any real exercise. Yet another reason he should have asked for more money. While trying to regain some semblance of control on his breathing, his eyes scanned the room for Chuck. Apparently, scanning the room was not necessary.

Chuck was sprawled in the chair leaning to one side and almost in a fetal position. It was very apparent that he was experiencing considerable discomfort.

It was blatantly obvious that, he wasn't even aware the Doctor was in the room. His breathing appeared laboured and he was emitting small grunting noises as he tried to stave off the waves of pain the Doctor knew he must be experiencing.

In retrospect, it probably wasn't a good idea to triple dose him, as it could easily affect his life expectancy, but he did need to collect data on this subject and they had only agreed to let him use Charles and the friends for a short period of time.

A period that he planned on making the most out of.

A look into the other room provided him with confirmation of what they saw in the monitors in the Lab. The co-workers/friends were gone. He had successfully helped them "escape". In doing so, results were now in, on how his resistance was holding up after his friends were out of danger. The next phase was ready. Using the headset that he had not taken off, he called for support.

Mary acknowledged and told him it was on the way.

Time had seemed to stop for Chuck. All he knew was pain; in his muscles, in his bones, in his head. It even felt like his blood hurt as it ran through his body. It felt like something was different about the room, but he was no longer cognisant of anything other than the pain.

Within mere moments of the Doctors request, two very large masked men appeared in the doorway. The Doctor simply nodded to them and motioned his head in the direction of Chuck. One stood in front of the chair, while the other man stood slightly to the right of it facing Chuck. Both men watched the Doctor, waiting for a signal of some kind.

The Doctor walked over to Chuck and crouched by the chair in a position where Chuck could see him as he spoke. "I see our other guests have left. That is fortunate. I know I promised to keep you comfortable, but in light of our current situation, I will need to append that agreement in order to move forward. You will experience a momentary discomfort as we proceed."

The Doctor stood and stepped away from Chuck nodding to the men as he backed away.

One of the men placed a large hand on each of Chuck's arms, easily lifting him from the chair. Now that he was no longer in the chair, the second man moved behind Chuck, pinning his arms behind him in such a fashion as to hold Chuck up, while keeping him immobilized.

Chuck was so disoriented with the pain he could barely stand and was somewhat thankful that they were holding him up, as he would have collapsed without support. He was lucid enough to know something bad was going to happen, but he hurt so much that he hardly cared at this point. He knew someone had spoken a moment ago, but the pain was so all encompassing that he couldn't understand them.

The Doctor walked to the computer and pressed the record button on the screen. Addressing the computer and in a clear voice he said, "Well, it appears that with our other guests missing, we will have to shift the emphasis to you, Charles. Gentleman you may begin with instructional discipline."

At the Doctors statement one of the men stepped directly in front of Chuck and, in what appeared to Chuck as slow motion, pulled his fist back and brought it forward into Chuck's lower ribs. Chuck had thought he was in quite a bit of pain before. This felt much worse. It was like having a white hot spike driven through his chest and out the back. The pain then radiated to the rest of him. He couldn't stop himself from screaming...loudly. It took more than a couple of seconds for the pain to fade back down enough to stop screaming.

"As you can no doubt hear, Charles is paying for your indiscretions."

The Doctor nodded to the man. Another blow to the lower ribs. Another scream. Chuck was barely conscious. When it was an overall pain, it was bearable, but when it was an instant stabbing pain it was all he could do to stay conscious.

The Doctor tapped the screen to end the recording and addressed the men. "Place him back into the chair. Don't bother with the straps, we won't need them. You may leave."

Crouching near Chuck he spoke again, "I am sorry Charles but it was necessary. Try to catch your breath. I will be back shortly".

The Doctor exited the room and walked briskly back to the Lab where Mary was busily tapping away at a keyboard. As The Doctor entered the lab, he asked, "Did you get it?"

Mary: "Yes. I already remixed it as you requested. The original recording is still intact, but I remixed his scream slightly in intensity and length to simulate a multiple series of blows instead of only two. It should continue for about 5 or 6 minutes before the recording ends." Pausing slightly, before she continues in a slightly skeptical voice, "Do you actually believe this will work?"

The Doctor was quite experienced in dealing with people and had no trouble hearing her skepticism or seeing her slightly aggravated expression. Something was bothering her. While he didn't appreciate subordinates questioning his methods, he had worked with Mary for several years and offered her more leeway in his responses. "My dear, you need to have a little faith in me. This is one of my fields of expertise, after all. This will definitely work. Guilt is a strong motivator, especially when there is a possibility to remove it."

He paused for a moment, breathing a small sigh before continuing, "That being said, I am becoming concerned about the increased dosage and its effects on Charles. We need to reactive his resistance soon or he may expire prematurely on us. I noticed that while he is under affect of multiple doses the pain can cause unconsciousness which is the direct opposite of the designed result. The compound should ensure the subject cannot become unconscious from pain. At this point I can only surmise that it's the multiple doses causing the failure. Remember to note that on the listing." He breaths out a slightly frustrated sigh followed by silence.

Mary waited for the Doctor to continue. When she sees he is lost in thought and no response is forthcoming she takes initiative to stay on schedule. "I have the recordings set up for the call. Just press touch the screen when you're ready to play."

Shaking off his thoughts the Doctor spoke, "Let's proceed. I'm not sure how much more time Charles has. Better to complete this while he is still alive."


	14. Chptr 14 Uh Oh!

**Chapter 14**

**Uh Oh.:**

The escape tunnel had been exactly as described by the agent still trapped inside.

Well, not exactly. It smelled like a mixture of old oil and sewage.

After descending into the tunnel, the agents easily slipped into their trained roles.

A quick glance around the tunnel using the light from the room above didn't tell them much. The tunnel was completely black. They only had the instructions of the disembodied voice above to go on. At this point, there were no other options.

What they could confirm, was that the tunnel was indeed about 4' high. Not enough to stand but high enough they didn't have to crawl. The tunnel appeared to be made of concrete, but the bottom had several inches of some kind of soft sediment covering it.

Sarah looked at Casey. Their gazes locked under the light of the opening. Unspoken instructions passed between them and he nodded once before turning to face the darkness. Taking the lead, he began walking with his right hand on the wall. Sarah fell into step slightly behind him, mirroring stance and location, but against the left side of the tunnel instead. Together they began a slow but steady pace down the tunnel.

They had only gone a few steps before they froze in response to a noise behind them. It was coming from the opening they had come through. Grinding noises could be heard coming from the hole followed by a dull thud and the sound of the locks being reapplied. In those few seconds, the beacon of light shining from whence they came shrank and then disappeared with the thud. No turning back now.

They turned and began moving in the only direction they could. Forward.

Now engulfed in darkness, their only accompaniment was the sounds of their breathing and the odd squishy noise of something being stepped on, as it echoed eerily through the tunnel.

Casey knew they only had one direction to go. He felt along the tunnel with his hand and each step was tentative. It was too easy to rush blindly down tunnels such as these and fall directly into large collection centres. Rooms, if you will, of several tunnels leading into it. The room functioned as a large drain. In the dark, it would be impossible to find the way out and would likely result in their death by drowning or from the fall.

Steady and methodical movement was the key to staying alive down here. That being said, he felt reassured that he was stuck down here with a competent and accomplished agent even if she was currently crazy on hormone overload. Not that he'd admit that to her face. Hell he couldn't see her face in the darkness. Seeing was overrated anyway. He could feel Walker's presence about 1 step behind him. He moved, she moved. That's all the confirmation he needed.

"Casey!", Sarah hissed.

The hairs at the nape of his neck stood briefly as he froze. The action caused a momentary sharpening of his senses. He had been so busy looking down and feeling the floor and walls that he had failed to notice that his eyes had adjusted to the darkness. With the adjustment came the appearance of a faint light source from ahead. From the looks of it, it appeared to be daylight.

"I see it", replied Casey.

Now that they could see the exit, they felt reinvigorated. Within moments they were standing upright in the second section of the tunnel that the voice had described. They were able to jog to the exit. As they drew closer, their pace slowed when they realized their escape was blocked by a solid grid of metal bars. Casey moved to check the lock on the right.

"Damn it", he said. The exit grate had been locked with a new cut proof lock. The simple swords and knifes they had were not even going to scratch it.

"Here!", Sarah said, pointing to the hinges.

Casey came for a closer look. The lock may have been new, but the hinges weren't in very good shape. The mortar holding them into the cement had all but disintegrated. A few well placed kicks should dislodge the hinges enough to separate them from their housing.

"Good eye, Walker", he said as he gently moved her out of the way so he could kick the hinges.

It only took three kicks to dislocate each of the hinges. The gate swung outward, pivoting on the pin held in place by the lock. Overall it took less than a minute.

So much for a secure facility.

It took a moment for their eyes to fully adjust to the sunlight. The sun was still up and the day was dry and cloudless. From the sun's position in the sky it was very late in the afternoon.

Exercising caution, they slowly peaked out from the tunnel. From their vantage point at the tunnel entrance they couldn't really see much. They appeared to be in some kind of valley or large excavated hole with the dirt walls rising almost straight up, leaving little chance of climbing them without gear.

The yard around their section of the compound was fenced and consisted entirely of packed dirt. There appeared to be a road of some kind outside the fence, leading through a gap in the valley wall. Possibly an old river route long since dried up and converted into a road.

The building they had come out of was quite large. Several large metal holding tanks were sitting on steel towers and positioned at specific intervals throughout the yard. Obviously the tanks were designed to hold some type of chemical or petroleum product. It didn't look like they had seen much use lately, as the towers looked to be in a poor state of repair.

Almost every open area not dominated by towers held skids of steel drums. The drums themselves looked quite old and weathered.

Other than the odd tumbleweed and small dust storm, there didn't appear to be any activity outside at all. That was a good thing. It made it easier to look for their next point on the checklist. A mode of transportation.

They made slipped out of the tunnel, hugging the walls of the compound. They made their way in the direction of the gate. The line of thought was that there should signs of a well travelled road or actual vehicle tracks in the dirt. If there was a vehicle, it would have to come through the gate and parked somewhere. Roads usually led someplace, and in this case, it didn't take much to infer that it would end in a small parking lot near an entrance to the building.

As they wound themselves around the buildings many corners, they realized the facility itself was quite massive and appeared to have been added to over time. Rather than one large rectangular building, it had the appearance of a lot of various sized buildings added together. Almost like they just picked a random wall of the previous structure and decided to attach the next building to it.

Slipping around one corner in particular, they realized they could now see a small series washboard ruts on the road leading from the gate to somewhere around the next corner they were approaching.

Taking care when looking, they found a small parking lot with a single man sized door leading into the building.

They had been in luck. An old Thunderbird was sitting almost directly outside the door. The age of the vehicle would work in their favour as it would not have an alarm system or ignition immobilizer.

Determining the area was clear, Casey did a quick crouching run to the car, while Sarah proceeded to do the same but in the opposite direction to a cluster of barrels just off the opposite side of the road. The barrels would allow her to watch Casey, but still alert him if she saw someone coming. She also had the vantage point of seeing the roof, now that she was far enough away from the structure. The skids of barrels around her also provided cover for her back, if someone was to come down the road from outside the compound.

A quick search of the car by Casey revealed a cell phone in the console with about ½ battery left but it registered no service. They would simply have to wait till they were in range of a cell tower and received a signal before they could touch base with HQ and Chuck.

Casey proceeded to hot wire the car while Sarah watched for guards.

Amazingly their escape had apparently gone unnoticed. There was no sound of any pursuit. This bothered her.

She had an uneasily feeling and it was getting worse. Something about the whole thing was not right.

Crouching behind some barrels a short distance from the car, allowed her to scan the building and the road for any potential trouble. It also allowed her to review their current situation. She couldn't say exactly when she started to feel uneasy, but she did know that it had started in the facility. It had gotten worse when they entered the tunnel, but that was not when it started. It had actually started sometime earlier.

Lack of actual sleep, the bump on her head, the arguments, and the previous mission and party antics had taken their toll on her abilities. A good agent she might be, but she was also a very tired, hungry and emotionally raw. She was definitely not working at her peak ability. Although, even in her reduced capacity, she was able to see odd things in recent events.

Like when their captors let them check their phones and send messages. Or when they received help from the other mystery agent. Neither of those events were common in the spy business.

Thinking of that agent made her even more confused. She had the nagging feeling that she knew him, but couldn't remember where. She had worked all over the globe, with multiple agencies. She was sure that if she thought about it enough, she would place him. She was always good at remembering people, even before becoming an agent.

The sound of the car starting caused her to look in Casey's direction. He was still crouched low on the ground leaning into the car with the driver's side door open and his upper body stuffed underneath the steering column. As she watched he looked back in her direction and gave a thumbs up. They were good to go.

Sarah made a final glance around the compound and finding no one she positioned herself near the barrels closest to the road. He gentle eased the car forward at a pace slightly faster than idle to ensure the noise and dust was kept to a minimum. As he passed her position the passenger door swung out and she darted from the barrels and into the car. The gate had been left open and once outside it Casey picked up speed. The road rose gently up and away from the compound. The further they went the more speed Casey applied, until they were moving at a reasonable pace away from the facility. The sooner they got to a main road the better. They kept their eyes open for any kind of signs as to where they were.

Sarah stayed low, with her eyes peaking over the seat back, watching for any pursuit. With no pursuit seen, she took time to study the facility for their return with reinforcements. The compound was apparently built in a small canyon. The facility stretched from one side to the other. There was only one dirt road leaving the side of the facility where they were and it cut through the side of one of the canyon walls. Likely to ensure comings and goings where less likely to be seen. There is no indication where the road goes, but it is the only one available so it has to exit somewhere. The canyon walls are obviously a factor in blocking the cell signal as well.

About 15 minutes into the ride, they still hadn't been able to get off the dirt road or find a highway, but they had to be close. The dirt walls no longer towered over them, but had receded in height and were now only a five or six feet high.

That was good, because they were running out of time. It had been approximately 25 – 30 minutes since they had escaped. By the time they got cell service, they might well be at the 2+ hour mark before getting back in to save the other agent. That was a enough time for bad guys to discipline the unknown agent and still flee before any reinforcements could storm the facility. If they didn't catch them, they wouldn't know who took them and they would still be at risk. More importantly Chuck would be at risk. They already knew firsthand what their superiors would do if they thought the risk was too high.

It didn't look good.

The cell phone ringing startled them both. They had signal!

Sarah picked up the phone. Confusion flashed across her face. No incoming information was showing and the LCD still listed it as _no cell service_. She knew Casey had seen the same thing on the display she had. He had slowed the vehicle a bit and looked at her with raised eyebrows. Something was definitely up if a phone can receive a signal yet says there is no signal to receive.

Casey nodded to answer it. Before she could, it came on by itself and defaulted to speaker.

A man's voice could be clearly heard, "Congratulations on your successful escape. Obviously you been able elude my control. That is unfortunate..."

Immediately suspicious Sarah cut him off, "What do you want and how does a phone with no signal receive calls?"

The man calmly responded, "My dear, that phone does not receive cellular signals. It is our internal phone. The transmitter is in the trunk. The only calls you will ever get are from _me_. That means you will not be calling for help anytime soon."

If what he said it true, then the Agent that helped them will likely be dead by the time they can get help. Knowing this her response is slightly bitter and a little sharper than intended, "Then why are you calling? To annoy us?"

The man has picked up on her tone and seems slightly upbeat as he speaks, like he's having fun. "Now Sarah...May I call you Sarah?" He continues without waiting for an answer. "I do believe I have something you might be interested in. I recorded this conversation several minutes ago. It is a little one sided, but I'm sure you will recognize the voice."

Sarah's eyes widen slightly before she looks at Casey. Casey is clearly of the same mindset; confused and somewhat worried. He knew her name. He could have picked it up off of the phones, but just the way he spoke sent her latent uneasy feeling back into alarm mode.

--

Smiling, the Doctor presses the play button on the recording made moments earlier with the guards and Charles.

--

As initial dialog of the tape is playing Casey can see Sarah is mumbling under her breath but can't make out what she is saying. The tape is of the unknown man speaking to someone else. Whomever he is speaking to is obviously not very conversational or is simply unable to speak.

Sarah's internal alarm is now screaming at her. A completely irrational fear has firmly rooted itself in her head and she can't stop it. Her mind has narrowed to that thought and only that thought as she repeats the words quietly under her breath, "Please don't be Chuck, please don't be Chuck, please don't be Chuck..."

When they hear the first scream Sarah's body betrays her and she involuntarily jerks so badly that the phone almost jumps out of her hand while a strangled noise escapes her throat. The voice had been unmistakably Chuck's!

At Chuck's scream, Casey's head whipped to the side to look at his partner. Her face has blanched and she is trembling. Her eyes are wide and staring at the phone like it is a monster that has swallowed Chuck.

Casey threw his right arm across her chest and proceeded to spin the steering wheel hard to the left, causing the vehicle to careen wildly as it swung around to point back the way they came. The car shudders as the tires spin uncontrollably, shooting rocks everywhere as the vehicle slides on the loose gravel road.

The unknown man has turned down the recorded volume, but you can still hear Chuck's screams continuing in the background. Casey is feeling sick and Sarah looks worse than Chuck sounds.

The unknown man begins to speak again. "It is unfortunate that you were unable to be here for this, but rest assured. We will make it last a _very, very long time_." In a deeper wicked tone, he adds, "Enjoy your day."

--

As he hangs up, the Doctor turns to Mary with a wicked smile. "Phase 3 complete. Move to Phase 4 and have the staff prepare for their arrival. And turn off the recording, listening to him scream is disturbing."

--


	15. Chptr 15 Zero Hour, Back to the Present

A/N: We have finally caught up to the opening scene in Chapter 1. I have reiterated it for continuity.

**Chapter 15**

**Zero Hour - Back to the Present**

_The scene opens with a sky cam looking down at a car speeding along a single lane gravel road leaving a large amount of dust in its wake. The road is contained on both sides by steep dirt walls. As the sky cam descends towards the vehicle, you see it's a white older model Thunderbird. The car is obviously running beyond what would be considered safe speeds, as the whole automobile is dangerously sliding and swaying side to side on the loose gravel. As the camera pans to the inside of the vehicle you see the two occupants._

_--_

A layer of road dust coats everything, including the occupants. Even with the windows closed, the dust is working its way in through every crack, joint and hole. Neither the driver nor passenger notice. Casey's hands are gripping the wheel tightly. His face is solid, impassive, yet without the usual fire and gruff demeanor. His eyes tell a similar story. They are focused, yet strangely...hollow. .

Sarah's face and eyes are the exact opposite. Her eyes are red and water filled, but she does not appear to notice. Her face betrays the mental anguish she is experiencing. Looking at her, one would get the impression she is fighting the urge to throw up. Her eyes are focused inward and are unaware of her surroundings, or what liberal measures Casey is taking with his driving.

If one was to look into only their eyes, one would appreciate the truth behind the saying, 'eyes are windows to the soul'.

--

Casey's tone is quiet but steady. No trace of the anxiety he feels makes it to his voice when he calls her, "Walker?"

His eyes make a darting glance at her._ She is completely zoned out. _He can't blame her, but he does need her attention, and he needs it now. They have a job to do.

He tries again, but this time in more commanding and louder tone, "Walker." No response.

_Christ, s_he isn't hearing him at all.

In a booming voice he shouts her name, "Sarah!"

Casey's shouting has forced Sarah to snap out of the funk she has been in since they got the call.

Her head swivelled towards him, providing him with a look that would be best described as piss off. He ignored it completely and dropped his voice back to a more reasonable level, "Did you hear me? I said we only have a couple of minutes before we arrive back at the facility."

Even though she is looking at him, she doesn't respond. He knows she has heard, but he doubts she has a plan on how to get in either.

_He studies her briefly before moving his eyes back to the road. Her eyes are red, her face is pasty and her hair is everywhere. She looks like shit. God only knows what her breath smells like. Especially since she threw up out the car window shortly after the freak hung up with Chuck still screaming in the background. _

_He knew what she had been thinking, because he was thinking the same thing while listening to the screams. It didn't take a genius to figure out that they had left a lot of pain-giving tools on that cart. It would be pretty easy to move it to from their cell to where Chuck was. _

_He had heard a lot of people scream in his day. Hell, he'd made most of them scream. None of them had bothered him like Chuck's. He knew why it bothered him but he was tired of admitting it to himself. Besides, Chuck could be in little pieces when they get to him and it would be better if he was in the "asset" mind frame rather than the "friend" one. _

_Now if he could only figure out how to do that._

--

_She had heard Casey, but had nothing to say. She had no plan. She had no nothing. She just wished she could go back in time and avoid all this shit. She had an overwhelming urge to curl up somewhere and hide from the world. Casey didn't seem to think that was a good idea. He kept talking and annoying the hell out of her. She had tried to come up with a plan and so far she had no luck._

_Working through the entire last couple of days did nothing to help her, and they had 2-3 minutes to figure out how to get back into the facility and get Chuck out of there. God, she hoped he was still alive. The screams...the screams had cut through her like a knife. Oh god, was that a pun? She felt bile rising again, but worked quickly to stop it. She had nothing to bring up anyway. She forced herself to refocus._

_How did they get Chuck? Why was he there? The phone messages to Casey and me..._

_What were they missing?_

_Sarah pushed herself to find facts. They must have missed something. She begins replaying what she knew._

_They captured Casey at the restaurant._

_They captured her at her apartment._

_Damn it! They could easily have followed her from the restaurant. She wasn't exactly paying attention, especially when she ran those red lights. They would have had no trouble picking up Chuck after she left him. _

_Casey was right about that. If we lived together, I would never have just left him anywhere. Ever. _

_Unbidden thoughts of compromising herself with an asset were pushed down into the recesses of her mind. Besides, it was too late for that. She pushed herself to get back onto the useful train of thought._

_With one piece of important information gleaned, she began on the next problem. Why did Chuck tell us he was ok and off to work?_

_Oh, my god! Simplistic answer. They told him to!_

_Next question was why would they want to release captives?_

_She didn't have an easy answer for this one. Maybe too much baggage? But why the torture equipment? And the MI6 agent that helped us..._

A look of surprise flicks across her face as her brain starts filling in pieces of the conversation they had with the 'agent' helping them get away.

"Casey", she whispers.

Casey is concentrating hard on controlling the car and the noise of the engine and the tires sliding on the gravel road easily drowns her quiet call.

"Casey!", she screams.

Surprised by her sudden change in condition and loud scream, his response is immediate. He slams on the brakes putting the car into a spin. He is able to keep it on the road but only after the car does a 360 degree spin while sliding in the direction they were going.

"What. The. Hell!", he shouts.

She ignores his shout and turns to him, asking in a monotone voice, "What was the name of the MI6 agent that helped us?"

Casey's face is grim and he is obviously more than a little annoyed at being interrupted on their way to save Chuck. He was going to yell a response back, but something about her face piques his interest and in deference to her and their situation, he keeps the reply tightly controlled, "Charles Barton."

Her look is one of expectation and it is annoying him.

He grimaces, "What's wrong with that? I used to be stationed in Great Britain for a while and we had a few Barton's around. It's a Saxon name, I think."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if to determine if he was telling the truth. She decides he is not lying, but he isn't seeing the connection either. She will have to put it out there for him.

In a strained and quiet voice she explains, "Let me paraphrase for you. Mr. _Charles Barton_ is _not_ in _active_ service. He did however have a problem with _email_ that got him in trouble a few _months_ ago. He doesn't have access to any important _British_ documents. He does however have _two_ controllers. Among other things he implied his _controllers think_ he is a _sissy, useless_ and show a _general lack of respect_ for him. On top of that he is _not allowed_ to use a _gun_."

As she spoke, you can see the wheels turning in his head. Before she is finished, she knows he understands.

The both speak in unison, "Chuck!".

Casey turns his attention back to the road and looks directly at the facility ahead. The dust has settled and the facility looms before them just ahead. He is hesitant to continue barrelling in at high speeds and instead he taps the gas lightly to push the vehicle forward at slow enough rate that he won't kick up huge amounts of dust.

After a few seconds, he realizes the vehicle is simply stirring up too much dirt. There was no real way to hide their approach if they use the car to get closer. He begins to inch the car into the ditch. A quick glance at Walker is all it takes for her to nod in agreement. She has reached the same conclusions about the car as he has. It would be better to park the car and go in on foot.

Moments later they were positioned behind the parked car scanning for signs of movement. Obviously their captors knew they had escaped, as evidenced from the cell phone call. The big question was if they were going to be waiting for them to return.

They took a quick stock of their weapons. They had only what they took from the room when they left it. Casey had a couple larger knives to be used for close hand to hand fighting. Sarah had one large knife for close quarter combat and about half a dozen knives she could throw in a pinch. The smaller knives simply weren't designed for throwing so the preference would lean towards closer ranged targets.

After the weapons were checked and secured, they moved to approach the building by using the ditch next to the road. Small brush and collections of tumble weeds helped mask their approach.

Initial visuals showed nothing different than when they left 30 minutes ago. That was strange. There should be some kind of covert movement at least. It was possible that personnel were extremely well hidden, but where, was the question.

Casey approached the gate first, moving off to the left to scout for guards that might be laying in wait for them. He shifted out of Sarah's sight for a moment or two as he followed the wall around the building. He wasn't gone long before he reappeared and gave the all clear for that side. As he moved to scout the right side, Sarah moved up to the left of the building to watch for any wandering patrols of bad guys.

Casey scouted the right as quickly as he had done the left. Sarah knew it had only taken a couple of minutes per side, but when she counted that time against Chuck's life under torture, it felt like two lifetimes. Casey returned to her side and whispered, "There is a ladder leading to the roof. That's the only entrance I can see.

Pushing past him, Sarah took the lead, speaking over her shoulder to Casey, "Lets go. Chuck can't last forever."

Her movements were fast. A little too fast, thought Casey, and he knew why. He thought about that for a moment as she approached the ladder. He decided he should take the lead. Besides, he was faster.

He tried to tell himself that he was stepping in front to ensure no mistakes were made.

He tried to tell himself it had nothing to do with Chuck or his partner.

He tried to tell himself he wasn't getting soft.

About all he succeeded in doing was convincing himself that his flawed thinking was a product of premature aging.

He shook the cobwebs out of his head and touched Sarah on the shoulder.

She glanced back at him in annoyance. Didn't he know every second counted?

"Sarah. Let me take the lead."

She was going to argue, but she saw stubbornness in his eyes and fighting with him would just cost more time. Time that Chuck didn't have. She grudgingly acquiesced to his request but she didn't look happy about it.

He had to hand it to her. She was keeping it together pretty well, all things considered.

Once upon the roof, they tried retracing the direction and distance that they traveled underground. It only took a moment to get to the approximate location of the room they were held in. They looked around for an entrance into the building and found two possible solutions. One was a small courtyard of some kind about 30' away. A quick reconnaissance of the courtyard revealed that they could use a drain pipe to get to the ground, but the doors were all keypad locked. There was no guarantee they could get in or get out if it proved to be a trap.

The other solution was a little more direct, but more likely to be guarded and alarmed. It was a roof top trap door. It had a keypad access as well.

Other than that, they were out of options unless they doubled back to the parking lot where they had found the Thunderbird. They could use the access door at the lot. That option had been briefly discussed and treated as a last resort in the impromptu plans they had made while trotting from the car to the compound.

Crouching at the trap door keypad, and with no bag guys in sight, their eyes met and they both nodded to proceed. Casey bent down and input the code they had been told during their incarceration. The trap door clicked open. Casey's raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't really thought that the code would work. What kind of personnel did they have setting up the security?

--

Mary noticed that the monitor showing the facility map has begun flashing red. Tapping a few keys, the map rotates and zooms in, showing a portion of the facility. The map is now only flashing red on a single small room.

Turning her head towards the Doctor, she informs him of the situation. "They have infiltrated the facility. They chose the roof top trap door."

"Send two unarmed personnel to that position. Tell them that there appears to be a malfunction in the rooftop keypad. Do not mention the 2 infiltrators."

Mary couldn't help it as surprise slipped into her voice, "You don't want the guards to handle this?"

Hearing her slip, the Doctor turned away to hide his smirk before he replied, "No, not this time. I want someone unarmed. Besides, they won't hurt them. Much."

She has worked for the Doctor long enough to know something is up but she also knows that he will only tolerate a few questions. Instead she offers a compromise, "How about some new staffers then, in case something goes wrong? We have a new recruit that is just in and is supposed to start training as a guard shortly. He has some background in handling violence. He won't be armed, and he could accompany the technician."

The Doctor feigned a posture that would imply he was giving her suggestion some actual thought. In truth, he had already decided on that course of action before she even asked him. After all, he did have access to the same files as her. Her uncanny anticipation of his needs was one of Mary's many valued talents.

Insubordination or questioned commands was not something he usually tolerated. Mary was an exception to the rule.

She also brought some otherwise needed assets to the table. Namely sex. She was up for anything, anytime, anywhere. In his line of work, a competent beautiful woman that was willing to put out on that level was almost priceless. Any bumps in the arrangement were easily assuaged by throwing extra money her way.

Sex aside, he always tried to instill the belief that he actually valued her opinion. Employee morale is very important in his line of work. Low morale leads to carelessness and leaves you open to mutiny.

"They are in the room," Mary said.

Looking towards her expectant face, he knew enough time had passed to give the impression of a considered decision, "Do it".

The corners of her mouth curved in the beginning of a small smile, as she proceeded to contact the personnel.

--


	16. Chptr 16 Compromised x2

A/N: Minor language and sexual references.

**Chapter 16**

**Compromised x 2**

Lifting the trap door had revealed a ladder that led to a small square room with a single keypad controlled door. Once they were in the room they did a quick equipment check and input the same code given to them earlier.

When they saw the code had been accepted, Casey quipped, "If I was them, I would fire my head of security. Either way, score another for our resident MI6 guy."

Sarah grimaced. Chuck was going to have a hell of a lot of explaining to do on that one. Her inner agent took a moment to remind her that he might not be able to explain anything if he's dead. She clamped down on that thought, pushing it deep. Her eyes had begun to tear slightly at just the thought of him dead. She shook it off and breathed deep.

Casey heard and slipped a strange glance back at her. He tossed his head towards the open door but said nothing, then he quietly slipped into the hall, with Sarah close behind.

Exiting the small room put them in a corridor. Directly across from their room was a door with a small 1'x1' window, exactly like the one on their room. Looking to the right the hallway ended in a door about 20' away. To the left the hall went about 30' before turning 90 degrees to the right. That was the way they needed to go. Several doors, all with keypads, where positioned throughout the hall, yet only the door they came from and the one directly opposite it had windows.

Before they had even begun moving in the direction of where they thought Chuck might be, they heard someone approaching. Looking around, Sarah quickly punched in the code for the door directly across from the roof access room.

They pulled the door quietly shut behind them just in time to see two men approach and stop at the roof room.

They were chatting like old friends. Neither seemed concerned about intruders or particularly interested in their surroundings.

Casey and Sarah looked at each other with puzzled expressions. They did not speak, but it was obvious that their confusion stemmed from watching the two men talk with a total lack of concern that someone had broken into the facility. This was something they would have to investigate later. Right now the opportunity to grab the personnel for questioning was a priority.

As the men are distracted by the conversation and punching in the key code, Sarah and Casey slipped out of their room and jumped the men from behind, forcing them into the room opposite the roof ladder one.

A brief whispered discussion between the agents and Casey takes position as lead questioner. He is a little colder and meaner looker than Walker, and he feels that he would better be able to handle them.

--

"They have our staff", says Mary.

The Doctor is at his desk documenting progress to date. His eyes flick up briefly to where Mary is sitting before slipping back down to his work. "That's fine. Inform me when they continue moving. What's the status on Charles?"

Mary glanced at the vital stats monitor. "He's holding for now." Chuck looks bad but his vitals have stopped tanking and have leveled off.

It's the other monitors that are giving her a bad feeling. There is some kind of problem with the captured staff. After a few minutes of watching the live feed, Mary is not so sure that everything is fine on that end.

The man, John, appears to be trying to question the staff. The feed doesn't have sound, but she doesn't really need it. It's pretty easy to see when people are angry.

The captured men know only the general direction of where a prisoner might be. The problem is that for the last fifteen minutes one of the staff members appears to be giving the interrogator a hard time. This was the opposite of stated procedure for this type of situation. The man should know better, especially considering he is going to be entering guard training. All personnel were required to memorize procedures before being stationed at any live site. This has to be confirmed prior to being accepted for training. No exceptions or mistakes are allowed. So why isn't he following procedure?

Mary's not quite sure if it's just the camera angle or something else, but during this time the Sarah woman has become increasingly ...she searches for a word to describe her attitude but is unable to come up with a word that means more than stressed but less than crazy. Then there was her movements; they would easily be described as highly agitated, similar to the pacing of a caged animal.

Mary is confident that her assessment is correct. The situation is looking like it will get out of hand. "Doctor, I think you need to have a look at this. We may have a problem."

--

Camera is above the heads of everyone. One man face down on the floor, hands behind his back, with his head turned towards his kneeling co-worker. Sarah is holding one of Casey's larger knives, while pacing behind the man on the floor. Her gaze is locked on the kneeling man in front of Casey. Casey has his knife against his neck.

Casey is speaking in a deadly tone, "Where is he?"

Kneeling man snidely responds, "Eat me."

Casey, "I've been at this long enough to get sick of you already. Either tell me what we want to know or I finish you and move on to the next one."

An oily smile slips onto the confident man's face, "You won't dare hurt me."

"You think I'm kidding punk? I will slice open that pretty neck of yours like a Thanksgiving Turkey."

The kneeling man speaks in a condescending voice, "Buddy, let me fill you in on a little tidbit. I'm the oldest son of the largest gang leader in LA. I now work for a company that _ensures _my well being. Do you actually think you are going to be able to hurt me or my friend there and live to get away with it? You touch me and you, your family, your friends, hell, anyone you screwed in the last 10 years will pay with their life."

Casey has an incredulous look on his face, not quite willing to believe the stupidity or arrogance of the captive.

Mistaking the lack of response for acquiescence, the man grasps the blade and gently pushes it away from his neck, rotating to stand and face his captors. "Now that that's settled, let's get down to business." He leers at Sarah as he speaks, "If you're really _nice to me_, I _might _forget this ever happened and you can go on your merry little way."

Casey is finally recovering from the absurdity of the situation and decides to play along to see how far it will go. "What did you have in mind?" he says through gritted teeth.

The tech smiles a wide lecherous grin at Sarah, "I like rough looking women."

Sarah froze. She has just about had it with his bull shit. Casey was taking too long with the interrogation and now this idiot is pissing her off with his comments. They are the ones holding the knives and not this smart ass punk. Her response to him is considerably less than polite, "What the fuck does that mean?"

Grinning widely, in an almost a sick parody of Chucks beautiful smile he steps towards her and replies, "It means you look like you just got ridden hard and put away wet. Just the way I like them." he sneers. "How about another round bitch." he says with a chuckle as he grabs her arm and pulls her towards him.

Sarah hears the words, and suddenly there is an overwhelming rush of noise, like the sound of a plane's engines when standing too close. Her vision has blurred slightly.

She thought she felt herself move, but she seems to be standing still. She is confused. Her throat hurts and her arms are stuck at her sides.

Suddenly Casey is yelling in her left ear, forcing her to turn away from his voice. Her mind is cloudy and disoriented. She tries to speak but can't. Struggling she finally finds her voice, "Stop it." It was much weaker sounding than she thought it should be but he has stopped yelling in her ear. She can move her arms again. She staggers, suddenly off balance. She feels an arm grab her and hold her upright. She knows its Casey. _What is going on?_ _Why does she feel so...disoriented?_

Casey's face appears mere inches away from hers and his hands are holding her head. He is speaking more softly now. "Sarah. Sarah. Can you understand me?"

_Sarah? He never calls me Sarah. And why wouldn't I be able to understand him? What the hell is he talking about?_

In a weak voice she asks, "What happened? Was I hit?"

Casey guides her to a wall, "Just sit her for a moment to get your bearings. What do you remember?"

Taking a brief moment to collect her thoughts, Sarah reiterates exactly what she remembers, "He threatened us and said he wasn't going to tell us where Chuck was being held."

He is staring directly into her eyes now and his voice is oddly calm and quiet, "Anything else?"

Her response was still quiet but her tone hardened, "He wasn't going to tell us about Chuck but he did want me to screw him. That's about the last thing I remember."

Casey's voice takes an odd tone, "Nothing else...?"

Sarah is feeling stronger now, and she gives him a look could only be described as 'what's going on'. Her words match it, "No, should I?".

"You tell me." as Casey moves. He had positioned himself directly in front of Sarah, blocking her vision as she sat with her back against the wall. When he moved, the scene before her shocked her completely.

Casey watched her reaction as he moved to let her see what was behind him. Her face blanched and her mouth dropped open, her eyes widen; all the signs he would expect of someone seeing it for the first time. _Damn it._

--

Camera is hovering over the monitors facing the Doctor and Mary.

"What the hell happened!", demanded the Doctor, gesturing wildly at the monitors.

"How am I supposed to know? I'm watching the same thing you are!" exclaimed Mary.

The Doctor remained quiet. He couldn't fault her for following his instructions and if he kept talking he would look like an idiot. Damn.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, "Your right", he said, brushing the miscalculation off as a minor matter. "Just deal with it please."

--


	17. Chptr 17 Love or Insanity

**Chapter 17**

**Love or Insanity?**

Mary has turned from the computers to address the Doctor seated at his desk. "Ok, I pulled his file from the Office server and read over his interviews, test files and reports. It was fairly easy to determine that a lot of the data was fabricated and did not match. Apparently he had help getting a job with the Office. Possibly a plant or just a friend of a relative or something like that. That's how he made it through our screening process. From what I can tell, his contact was in the division that is supposed to screen the applicants for exactly that type of situation."

The Doctor sighed. He trusted the Office to supply him with quality employees for missions, when needed. He worked very hard to keep his employees loyal and happy. In order to succeed at it, he simply required that the staff be competent and trustworthy. In short, this was a problem he shouldn't be having.

"Inform the Office of our findings so that they can deal with this. We just don't have the time to jerk around checking each file and still stay on schedule. Also, ask the Office to review all our current mission files immediately for any similar staff records tampering. I want to avoid any more problems."

"In the meantime, let's go over what we have on our problem." Looking at the monitor feed he continued, "Regardless of how the current situation appears it may work in our favour when they find Charles. Speaking of Charles, what's his status?"

Mary's fingers flew across the keyboard and several of the monitors switched back to the video feed on Chuck's room. At a first glance Chuck isn't visible in any of video feeds.

Slightly alarmed, both the Doctor and Mary lean in to check the screens more closely. It takes a moment before Mary points him out. "There. He is lying on the floor behind the computer desk." She presses a few more keys and one of the room monitors switches to Chuck's vital statistics. Several of the numbers and graph bars are yellow or red. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that he is not doing well. The Doctor's tone is ominous, "Let's hope they get there soon, or we won't have to worry about a schedule."

As the Doctor straightens back up, an almost inaudible comment slips out, "Or getting paid."

--

A lot of agents have lost it in the field. They were either re-assigned or simply never came back from the mission. She had always wondered if her day would come. She didn't think it would. She was too strong for that. She was wrong.

Now it had finally happened to her and she couldn't remember any of it. She couldn't deny it either. A fellow agent and a prisoner have witnessed her do it. The blood covered a good portion of her clothes, providing a large amount of empirical evidence. The blade she had been holding was still lodged, in all places, the groin of the man that had grabbed her.

Losing it in the field did give her a small edge. It made her very aware of the fact that it might be the last time protecting him, but the first time she acknowledged to herself that she had utterly fallen head over heels in love with him. Now it's too late for her.

It didn't matter. None of it mattered. Not anymore. Not after the report is filed. She would rescue Chuck and then she would be gone. Re-assigned or benched. She would be too much of a risk, in more ways than one. But until then, her immediate goal was find Chuck.

Her face hardened into a mask of stone. No emotion leaked out. None needed to. She had business to take care of and the emotions would be saved for later; saved for Chuck. She stood, tightened her grip on her knife and stepped towards the remaining prisoner.

Casey had shifted slightly to make room for her approach. He has also moved into a position where he could defend himself if necessary. His face was blank save for a small grimace. His eyes were watching her every move. His movements are of a man being stalked. He is definitely wary of her.

I figure he has every reason to be worried. He looks at me. He knows there has been a change in me but he doesn't know what it is; at least not yet. I realize I like having him as a partner, I just hope he stays out of my way.

I tell myself that I'm going to find Chuck, one way or another. God help them if Chuck is dead, because I will make sure _none _of them leave this building. If Chuck isn't coming out alive then it won't matter what I do. With him gone, so is everything else, including a reason to continue living a life like mine; at least like it was before Chuck. A derisive snort slips out as I categorize my CIA life as one filled with nothing but a job of lies and loneliness. Chuck brought me back to a point where I could see what life really was like on the _outside_ and he made it bearable for me. God help them if they have taken my Chuck away from me.

The prisoner has seen me stand. I see the fear in his eyes. I know, without doubt, that it is fear of me. Unlike me, he appears to remember exactly what I did to his co-worker. The lone prisoner begins babbling and pointing wildly. Whatever I did earlier to his buddy has made an impression. I look directly at him and give him my coldest smile.

He has noticed and is crying and begging as he talks to Casey and I. I am barely listening. I only need to hear where Chuck is. I ignore the pleas to spare his life. I tell him to shut up or he dies on my knife. Only crying is heard. Casey has taken another small step back from me and is now facing directly towards me. I ignore Casey's defensive stance and address our prisoner. He is to tell me where my boyfriend is being held or he dies. Right now.

I feel Casey's eyes on me. I don't care. I want answers to my questions and I want the truth. I have little energy or tolerance for lies at this point. In a perverse way, I think Chuck might be proud of me for pushing the truth.

The man is still babbling, but he gets out the direction and distance to the room where Chuck is.

It is obvious he is telling the truth. I can smell him from where I stand. I wonder to myself if that was the origin of the term "Scared Shitless".

I nod once to Casey and ask if he's ready. He looks down at the prisoner and looks at me. I notice he has balled his left hand into a fist. I know what he is going to do and have already turned away from him and started walking to the door when I hear the loud smack of a fist impacting with the man's face. Casey is a step behind me, before I am all the way through the door.

--

Mary: "They are on the move."

Doctor: "About time. How far?"

Mary: "Maybe 10 or 12 minutes dependent on how careful they are."

Doctor: "Position an expendable guard outside of the room. Confirm his gear to include only a handgun. No radio's or cell phones. Position two more guards inside the room with Charles. Give them the usual load out."

Mary: "On it."

Mary contacts the personnel, while the Doctor watches Chuck's vitals drop on the monitor. There isn't much time left. Tripling the dosage is looking more risky than he had anticipated. If this goes south he could have two very powerful customers out for blood. More specifically, _his_ blood. His organization wouldn't hesitate to offer him up as a sacrifice. Failure was never an option with the Office. Not even once.

--

Casey let me take point. We both know why and I'm fine with that.

I move through the halls like I have been trained. Casey has my back. I trust him there, at least for now. I know he prefers being behind me, in case something goes _wrong_ again.

The halls are deserted and there is no resistance of any kind. Seven doors, using either the code Chuck gave us or the second code given by the cooperative prisoner and we arrive in the hallway that leads to Chucks' room. The room Chuck is in is supposed to be around the next corner. I pull out two knives and begin to run towards the corner.

--

He is floating like a cloud through the sky. He doesn't know where he's going to or coming from as he drifts, but he finds comfort in the calm. Thousands and thousands of images are floating by him as he drifts. A unicorn, an old man sitting on a park bench feeding pigeons, a tall skyscraper in a city he doesn't know, a sunset over the ocean, a beautiful woman laughing while on a picnic with her family.

The woman is familiar and she captures his attention in a way the other pictures didn't. He slows and eventually stops with the picture of her directly in front of him. He studies every aspect of her picture.

She looks younger than he thinks she should be, although it unclear why he thinks it. Her hair is a soft light brown and shoulder length and again he feels it should be slightly different. Longer, possibly middle of her back and blond. Then there are her eyes. They are an attractive blue, but it's not the color that draws his attention. There is something about them.

While he is looking, he thought he could hear some kind of sounds. Muffled and distant before fading away.

Suddenly the picture seems to take a life of its own and without realizing it he is inches from her face, staring into those eyes. Looking intensely into them he is suddenly overtaken by a feeling of warmth and coldness at the same time.

While he watches his world of tranquility has faded away and been replaced with a grey darkness that has encompassed everything but him and the picture. Suddenly the picture is expanding or he is shrinking, he can't tell which; he is being drawn into the eyes of the picture.

As things enlarge for him he realizes he can see a woman, a man and something dark floating behind the man. Both people feel very familiar to him.

He realizes, she is the same woman from the picnic picture but more closely matches how he thought she should look. Her name floats out of the void and escapes his lips, "Sarah". Immediately the woman looks at him and a huge smile accompanied by shining eyes greets him. The warmth is unimaginable and welcomed.

Then the man drifts into his view, partially blocking sight of her. He is very tall with curly short brown hair. He knows him too, but a name escapes him. He looks at the brown eyes of the man and sees a helplessness buried within. He seems lost and scared at the same time and there is something following him. Something hidden, something dark. As he watches the darkness gathers behind the man and slowly consumes him.

The woman is there but she is no longer smiling. Instead a heartbreaking sadness seeps from her once shining eyes as she watches the darkness devour him.

Seeing the woman so sad at the loss has made him angry. Not at her, but at the floating mass of darkness. She shouldn't have to endure the loss. A sudden flash of hatred flashes within him against the cloud.

He is shocked to see the cloud recoil like a living thing. His shock is quickly replaced by the overwhelming need to push the darkness away. His anger builds as he sets himself to the task of protecting her. He will push it far enough that it will not hurt her again.

--

"Yes ma'am, he is in position outside as requested. Ma'am, what is our status on acceptable force?" There is a slight pause while the man listens on his headset. "Understood." Another pause and the man's eyes turn towards Chuck laying on the floor behind the desk. "Yes ma'am. Vincent checked him and he is still alive, although I don't think for much longer." This time his eyes shift towards the other man in the room. "Vincent had a hard time getting a vital off of him. He's in pretty bad shape, very weak pulse. He did seem slightly delirious when he was checked. It sounded like the said someone's name but it was too quiet to make out."

Another pause. "Yes ma'am." He looks at Vincent and nods then removes the headset and places it on the computer desk. He takes a final look at Chuck to ensure he is still incapacitated before turning and saying "They're here."

--

The guard outside the room fell like a ton of bricks, his hands clutching the knives protruding from his neck and chest. I know Casey wanted to take it slow coming around that last corner, but I need to find Chuck. It wouldn't have mattered if there was 1 guard or 10 guards. We only have a limited amount of ranged weapons and they have guns. Surprise is our only option. I took it up a notch by breaking into a sprint before rounding the corner, knives already out. He was dead before Casey even turned the corner.

I retrieved my knives and stepped back from the body. I let Casey search the body for weapons and communication equipment. He looked at me and shook his head. No communication tech or ID. He did find something though as he had a grim smile on his face as he stood up with a gun and extra clip in his hands. I let him see a small smirk form on my mouth. He's never happy unless he's shooting someone and far be it for me to deprive him of it.

I find irony in my thoughts. Casey wants to shoot and kill at least one person and I didn't want to kill anyone, yet here I stand, two dead by knives from my hand so that I could save someone. I'm not sure what I want Chuck to know the least. That I killed two people to save him or that I killed a man so brutally that I can't remember it. I'm laying odds on the brutal one.

I see Casey move. He locked and loaded. I take a deep breath and examine the door. The door opens in and has the same keypad as every other door we have gone through. The door will ensure that they can only fire at us from one direction, provided we don't open it all the way inwards. When Casey is in position, gun pointed at the door he nods and I punch the numbers...

--


	18. Chptr 18 Honey I'm Home

**Chapter 18**

**Honey, I'm Home**

Chuck can't help but squeeze his eyelids together as tightly as possible. The light in the room feels much too bright and he feels like shit. It's been happening a lot lately. A passing thought indicates that he should take up drinking. At least he can have fun getting drunk; instead all he's been getting lately is the hangover part of it.

While attempting to slowly open his eyes he hears someone talking in a low voice. He follows his first instinct to freeze, keeping completely still and holding his eyes partially open. Once his vision focuses he realizes he's looking at a wall. More surprisingly is that he is laying on the floor. He definitely did not remember laying down. Matter of fact, the last thing he could recall was feeling really bad. Ok, that was an understatement. He had felt like he had been run over by a truck while having the worst case of the flu. He must be over it, as he is feeling better now and even his headache is rapidly disappearing.

With another burst of talking he forces his ears to sharpen at the sound. He also hears movement in the room. He is now very much aware that there are one or more people in the room with him, but they have not approached him; at least not yet.

Very slowly he rotates towards the wall, off of his side, until he is face down to the floor. With a minimum amount of movement and using his peripheral vision, he orients himself with the room. Within a second or two he determines that his current location is on the floor between the rolling computer desk and the wall. His head is facing towards the door of the room and the chair he was sitting in is directly north of his head with him laying parallel to the desk. He slowly he tilts his head to look under the computer desk and towards the noise. He immediately sees two sets of feet; both sets slightly in front and on opposite sides of the room.

He hears the door click and turns his head to see it swing open. A sudden burst of gunshots from inside and outside is heard. The left most set of feet moves back to a new position. The right most set of feet has moved a few feet in front of him, just on the other side of the computer desk. The only thing there is the large chair Chuck was restrained in earlier. He must be using it as cover.

At that point Casey's voice filtered into the room. "If you surrender and throw your guns into the hall, we won't kill you."

One of the men fires a round out the open door in response.

Oblivious to the shot fired, Chuck is overjoyed that the rest of the team came back for him! But where is Sarah? As if to answer his question, her voice follows the shot fired, "I assume we can take it that a no." It was Sarah!

Shifting slightly on his stomach he inched closer to the desk. In the new position, Chuck had a better view of the door from underneath the desk. The door had not swung closed like it usually did. It only took a second for him to see the knife jammed into the hinged side of the door keeping it propped open.

Looking around the room, he didn't know how they could overrun it without getting shot themselves. When the guard's reinforcements come, Team Chuck will be screwed. He was pretty sure that if Sarah and Casey were recaptured, the crazy Doctor would not be so quick to let them off of the torture block so readily. Chuck had no will to see them put back in the torture room with all the sharp pointy knives and other objects he worked so hard to get them away from. The thought is more than a little unsettling to him, especially with Sarah involved.

With that in mind, he makes a split decision and acts on it. He takes a silent breath in and releases it. He puts his palms on the ground on either side of his shoulders and pushes up, springing towards the armed man only a few feet from him. The man is taken by complete surprise as he did not expect an almost dead man to come leaping at his back.

The man's training is good, but Chuck had the element of surprise, grabbing the gunman's arms from behind. The man spins around and a shot is fired but it is wild and strikes the ceiling half way to the door. Unfortunately for Chuck the man is also very large and muscular and has the benefit of close combat training; something Chuck does not have. Within a few seconds, the man has reached behind and grabbed hold of his assailant's shirt in an effort to pull him off of his back. Chuck's eyes widen as the bulky man appears much more flexibility than he gave him credit for, as he now has the shoulder of Chuck's shirt firmly in his grasp.

While Chuck had the initial element of surprise, he was not stupid enough to think he could win this fight. The man was definitely bigger, armed and holding a gun. Chuck figured now's a good time as any to call for his team members, "I can use some help now!"

Just then a ripping noise is heard as the man literally begins to pull a section of Chuck's shirt off of his body causing Chuck to lose his grip on the man and stagger backwards as he loses his balance. Another shot is heard echoing from the other side of the room. Chuck realizes that in his haste, he had forgotten that there are _two_ armed men in the room.

Sarah and Casey peer in to the room mere milliseconds after the second shot, to see a look of surprise on Chucks face as he falls backwards towards the floor with the one of the armed men. While the first shot could clearly be heard hitting a wall somewhere in the room, the second and last shot made no such noise. The fact that Chuck looked surprised and was falling to the floor when they looked into the room, it could be logically be assumed that Chuck was the intended target.

This logic was further compounded by the fact that the second guard had his pistol pointed in Chuck's immediate direction. Seeing that the man firing the shot is distracted and the other man is down with Chuck, Sarah is the first to act, diving into the room and coming out of a roll with two knives flying off her hands towards the lone standing guard. A gunshot reverberates from behind her and two soft thunks are heard before the second guard hits the floor.

Sarah is already on feet a knife in hand and running to where Chuck was laying with the guard on top of him; both struggling to rise. Without hesitation, she sinks the knife into the back of the man's neck.

Chuck is looking at her with very, very large eyes having just witnessed her lethally stab a man in the neck. A man close enough for him to smell his breath as he died. He is shocked to see her face. It is cold and impassive. She might as well have been washing dishes or sorting papers. Comprehension of the situation dawns on him and he realizes that she looks like a cold blooded killer.

He knows that he is staring at her; studying her. For a brief moment, he thought he detected a flicker of fear flashing across her features when she saw him watching her right before she flipped the now dead guard off of him and proceeded to pat him down. He let her check him over, studying her movements and waiting for her to speak. When she did talk, she was all business, "Where are you hurt?"

His answer is quiet and somewhat distant as he processes what she just did, "I think I'm ok, thanks."

She stretched a hand to help him stand but she keeps her face pointed towards the floor. Once he is standing she turns form him and takes a step to away to put distance between them.

He knows she is trying to hide. She has closed off her emotions, or at least she thinks she has. When he saw her face moments ago, he had been shocked by the lack of emotion shown after killing a man, but strangely, he is not surprised. He had already known where the emotions go to hide and he was prepared to deal with them.

He didn't say a word. He stepped forward and grabbed her arm as she tried to walk away. She didn't resist, simply halting her movement away from him and keeping her head down, as if waiting for him to let her go. He wasn't about to do anything of the sort.

Looking around the room he saw both guards laying dead in pools of blood. Looking towards the door he saw Casey busy pulling the knife from the door hinge and doing a quick scan of the corridor for others guards. Seeing no one in the hall, Casey slipped back into the room and let the door close and lock.

It didn't take a genius for Chuck to understand that they had come for him without backup. Another piece of the Sarah Walker puzzle slipped into place.

"Casey, how long before the guard's get reinforcements here?", he asked. His peripheral vision was working well as he saw Sarah lift her head slightly, a questioning look cracking her impersonal visage. He knew she was expecting him to react much differently than he is.

"I don't know Chuck, maybe 3 or 4 minutes. Maybe less. We don't exactly have an escape route, so we need to move quickly." Turning to face him as he spoke, he saw Casey raise his eyebrows when he caught sight of Chuck holding Sarah's arm. He knew their body positioning made her look almost submissive, but he didn't care; either way, Casey didn't say anything about it.

Looking directly at Casey he issued the statement, "I can get us out, but I need at least five minutes."

Casey's scoffing grunt wasn't unexpected. "You can plot an escape route out of here in 5 minutes?" Sarcasm was heavy in his voice.

Chuck didn't react to the scepticism shown by his team partner, instead he calmly and slowly responded, "No. I can have us on a route out of here in about 1 minute, but I need the other four for Sarah."

He could feel her head snap to face him, but he ignored it, holding the stare Casey was giving him instead. He watched Casey's eyes flick between the two of them, before he suddenly nodded yes and headed to the body nearest the door, speaking only as he walked, "Make it quick Bartowski".

Chuck moved to position himself directly in front of Sarah, using his grip on her arm to gently turn her until she was facing towards him and close enough to feel the heat from her body. She was motionless as he moved closer, her face pointed down again. He brought his left hand below her chin and forced it to rise until he could look into her eyes.

He smiled a huge grin, his eyes lighting up as he looked into hers and then he kissed her. It was nothing forceful or demanding, just a simple bestowment of genuine unconditional love, free of any judgment or expectation.

As he straightened back up her impassive face had cracked and a tear leaked out her eye. Like a dam before bursting, her expressionless facade fell away and she buried her face into his shoulder. She grasped him like she was going to get pulled away at any moment; her silent tears turning into very quiet strangled sobs as she released all the emotions she had been bottling in. Letting go of her fear of finding him tortured and dead; her fear of what he would think of her, if he found out she killed others to save him.

He held her equally tight, relishing in the closeness of her, wishing for more. He softly caressed her head and stroked her back while she let it out. He leaned down to her ear, kissing it gently before whispering ever so softly into it. Her reaction to his whisper was immediate, as she pulled him to her, as if she was trying to become part of him. He simply smiled and did the same.

Out of the corner of his eye, Chuck watched Casey check the guards to confirm that they were indeed dead. After checking the guards, Casey did a scan of the room for anything else that might be useful, noting with raised eyebrows that he was able to look into the room they had originally been held in and escaped from. The torture cart was still sitting where they had left it. Still holding Sarah tightly, Chuck inclined his head ever so slightly when Casey turned from the window to face him. He could swear Casey's face wore a small smile for a moment before it slipped away, replaced by one of seriousness and all business; his five minutes were up.

Casey cleared his throat, reminding them they still needed to get out alive.

--

"Doctor..." calls Mary. "I think you might want to add this to your data."

Leaving his desk, he moved behind Mary as she pointed to the monitors. On the two largest monitors in front of her she has pulled up a display of Chucks vitals on the left and a video feed of Chuck on the right. Both monitors are on pause. She explains as he watches. "I have synced both feeds from the several key events over that last few hours. Keep an eye on the Charles vitals as I jump to bookmarked points. After the dosage increase kicked in you'll notice how his vitals are steadily declining at a fairly rapid rate. The compound is fully active. Now watch.

She presses a few keys and the video jumps to the first bookmark. "You can see here when the rolling shutter was high enough for him to see. Look at the shift in vitals."

The Doctor scanned the readings and commented, "Hmm...everything levelled off immediately. At this point it's unclear whether or not he even notices he's in pain. That matches the notes I made earlier. Go on."

She presses keys again and the video shifts to the next bookmark. "As you spoke to the prisoners, the vital signs controlled by the compound, were actually in a fairly quick and steady regression to a pre-compound state. Watch what happens when they wheel in the torture cart.

Mary and the Doctor are staring intently at the screens. As soon as Chuck identifies the equipment on the cart all vitals affected by the compound return to almost normal. Normal for someone without a triple dose of the compound, that is.

The Doctor is amazed. "My God. He has overridden more than 95 of the compound. This is well beyond my...

Mary interrupts, "You might want to keep watching."

The Doctor sends her a confused glance as she forwards to another bookmark and nods towards the screens.

The monitors indicate that they are now on a live feed. The door of the room is jammed open and the two guards in the room are in positions to incapacitate the attacking agents. Whether the attacking agents make it into the room or are injured and recaptured is irrelevant. What is more important is that the Doctor is watching Chuck's vitals in real time and the results are shocking. The compound has been 100 neutralized, at least for the time being. What is even more astounding is that the readings indicate a very active pain suppression response.

The Doctors mouth drops open, "That is not possible... Not only is he no longer affected by the compound, according to his vitals, _any _pain would be at least partially repressed as long as his body was intact enough to function."

There is a momentary pause before disbelief and anger slips into his voice, "There must be something wrong with the sensors you placed on him."

Mary knows he is grasping at straws and ignores his tone, "I checked them three times. While we are not able to use the chair sensors, we have more than one set of the extra sensors that I attached to his clothing while helping him to the bathroom. All of which are extremely accurate and, I dare say, reading him correctly."

The Doctor is lost in thought and has begun pacing behind Mary's chair. While she makes every effort to appear to be preoccupied by the monitors, she is quietly listening to his mumblings. She can only make out pieces of what he is mumbling under his breath.

His voice is extremely low, but she can distinctly hear, "...they never said...", "...needed data...", "they know he is special, why else...", "...the upload didn't contain..." before the Doctor suddenly stops speaking. Realizing what he is doing the Doctor catches himself from rambling on further. He casts a sideways glance to see if Mary has been watching him but seems satisfied that she wasn't paying attention.

Unfortunately for him, Mary _had_ been watching the Doctor out of the corner of her eye. She has worked with him for several years and she knows when he's hiding something. Piecing together the various clues she has seen and overheard and in no small part to the gut feeling she has, she knows he just didn't happen across these three as coincidently as he had stated. That usually means that he has other projects running on the side...for bonus payouts, of course.

Normally that wouldn't bother her much, but this time it irked her more than a little bit. The whole project had been weird from the word go. It was well beyond normal operations, then factor in the changing parameters, only getting updates on a need to know basis and, of course, the man at the center of the test.

Charles, or Chuck as he liked to be called; he was an enigma if there ever was one. She talked to him for about 30 minutes and despite the current circumstances, she actually _liked _ him and she _never _liked anyone. Not even herself, but that was a whole other story leading to her current line of work and choice of job environment. She brushed off the self analytical depression and refocused on her analysis of the project.

No, this time around she was definitely pissed off. She is working on a mission with ½ the intel, a _real_ victim that is immensely charming and she actually _likes._ The bastard Doctor, on the other hand, was likely cheating her out of a huge chunk of money by running one or more tangent projects. Nice way to repay years of loyalty and _sex_. There would be an accounting some time soon. Of that she was sure.

--


	19. Chptr 19 Returning for the Forgotten

**Chapter 19**

**Returning for the Forgotten:**

Casey cleared his throat, reminding them they still needed to get out alive.

They heard and relaxed their vice-like hold on each other.

Sarah gently pulled herself from his arms and took a small step back. Using his torn shirt to focus her eyes she reached up and ran her finger tips lightly across his bared skin. Starting from the top of his bare shoulder and moving towards his neck. Mesmerized by the movement of her own fingers on his trembling flesh she says nothing, lost in the moment. That is until her fingers brushes up against the end of the torn cloth near the base of his neck. Her face quickly shifts into a business like mode as she notices some discolouring on his skin, just barely hidden by the ripped clothing. She immediately uses her other hand to push him slightly backwards and into the padded chair a couple of steps behind him. "Chuck, are you alright?"

Her sudden words have taken him by surprise. She is more closed off than before. More like the Agent he knows and sees every time he is on a mission with her. He sighs, knowing she has her emotional shell back up. Irregardless he accepts it and his reply is quiet, "Better now that you're here."

She looks into his eyes and before the warmth of them can melt her newly restored agent exterior she looks away, satisfied that he isn't lying. Of course his answer didn't explain the marks and bruising on his right shoulder as she shifted to investigate.

He waited patiently while she briefly examined his shoulder.

Casey has since rechecked the door and hall and is now watching the two of them. He notices the roles have reversed. Now Chuck appears submissive to Walker while she looks at something near his neck. He still can't figure out what is going on between them but they sure as hell don't have any time for it. "Walker!" he hissed.

She heard and threw an icy glare his way. "Give me a minute", she snapped.

"You've two have already had five and we don't have another minute", he retorted back.

"Then I suggest you find one for us!"

Grunting, he returned to a lookout position at the door.

Satisfied that she bought them more time, she crouched to face him while looking underneath the ripped shirt. A weak smile appeared on his lips. Leaning forward towards her ear and in a gentle whisper, "That was from you in the hotel room; and I don't mean the torn shirt.

Turning to face him, it was apparent she was puzzled by his statement.

Smiling a little more broadly, "It was just before Casey tried to scare us to death". His eyes, even as tired as they are, twinkled with amusement as he saw the glimmer of understanding appear in her's. Sarah averted her gaze by looking down, but not fast enough to hide her blushing cheeks from him. _Maybe not so unemotional as she looks_.

With the inspection over, he had to get to work. He had promised Casey results. "I think I'd better get started" he said as he reached his arm up for her to help pull him from the plush chair. Once standing, he headed over to the terminal while Sarah followed.

Right after Chuck is seated at the computer she hears Casey call her in a loud whisper, "Walker". Looking towards Casey, she sees him motion her over.

She couldn't help but flick her eyes towards Chuck one last time to make sure his is ok. He catches her looking at him and with a flick of his head towards Casey, he whispers, "I'm good for now, go see." Satisfied with the acknowledgement, she walks quickly towards Casey.

Casey's voice drops to a very low whisper when she reaches him, "About freaking time you got back in the game."

She knew exactly what he was talking about and it had nothing to do with how long she took, but more with her state of mind. Come to think of it, she _did feel much better_ now. At least she didn't feel crazy.

Handing her a gun and a couple of clips from one of the downed guards he asked, "How is he?" nodding in Chucks direction.

Sarah, glances at Chuck as she speaks, "He is a little banged up but doesn't appear any worse for the wear." I don't think they had a chance to do much. If we had gotten here a little bit later..." Her suddenly fades out and she stops talking.

Casey noticed the change in her tone and speaks in sharp whisper. "Walker! Don't go there. He's fine right now and it's our job to get him out. I'll watch the hall for any trouble, in the mean time go see what Chuck can do because we obviously can't go out the way we came in. And Walker; I hope for all our sakes that Chuck can get plot a route out in a _minute_ and that it wasn't all macho geek bullshit."

Remembering her conversation with Laslo, she heads back over to Chuck, unwilling to entertain the idea that Chuck may be _all that_ for reasons Casey is not aware of.

Approaching him she notices he appears to be typing extremely rapidly. Smiling to herself she thinks that he might just be good with computers. Not wanting to disturb his train of thought she moves as quietly as possible, coming up directly behind so that she can see the computer screen.

As she walks up he hits enter and says, "I'm in." Appearing on the screen is an Omega Agency logo and login.

Sarah's mouth drops open. Then again, Laslo could be right. The Omega Agency is an almost mythical secret organization similar in function to the CIA, differing in the fact that it is not run by a government but by a worldwide council. They have their hands in everything. At least so goes the urban legends. She has no actual knowledge or proof of any real Agency. At least she didn't until Chuck pulled up the login screen.

She shifts slightly so that her back is a little bit more towards the Casey. The last thing she wants to do is show Casey how shocked she is. That would draw attention to her and Chuck and she didn't think Casey would be as lenient if Chuck could suddenly hack computers to organizations considered super secretive to the CIA or NSA.

While she has been shifting and thinking Chuck has entered "BartowskiC" and a 16 digit code as the log in. He waits a moment before the screen displays one simple message, "Login Approved – Level 6 Access Granted". Sarah is sure that if her eyes hadn't bugged out yet, there were now.

In the span of mere moments he appears to have accessed skills well beyond his abilities, confirmed the existence of a shadow agency, and either used said skills to hack in to the agency or he is _actually a member_!

Jesus. Again, the personal side improves and the agent side nose dives faster than she can fix it. At this point she's not even sure if Chuck is aware of her standing there, as he is totally focused on the screen.

Multiple block images appeared on the screen, each one clearly labelled. Biosciences, Forensics, Warehouse, Storage, Security, etc.. Chuck tapped the screen on the Security square. Over the next few seconds he pulled up maps of the facility, accessed video feeds, and pulled up the biosensor data for all registered personnel giving them instance real time locations of the staff. With her mouth hanging open, she quickly realizes that Chuck most definitely _was not _exaggerating about only needing a minute to plot them a route out.

--

She couldn't believe it. She was jealous.

She tried to pretend it was just anger at the Doctor for being an ass, liar and cheat. Unfortunately she wasn't satisfied with the easy answer and it took her about 30 seconds to reanalyze her feelings and the context of the situation to comprehend what was going on. One kiss and a hug and she hated the bitch.

After the last set of findings the Doctor ran off mumbling something obscure about reporting data or something, effectively leaving her to watch the ensuing fight between the agents and the guards in Chuck's room on the live camera feeds.

She saw him tenderly kiss her and hold her. She could_ almost feel_ their attachment to each other, just by watching them.

She knew she was being irrational about the whole thing. He was the main test mark in a project she was working on. She had only been around him for less than an hour and only about ½ of that talking to him. Regardless, she knew he was the first man she genuinely _liked_ in a long time. Didn't she always hear other women complaining about how all the _good men _were taken?

Hell, he had even told her as much when she tried to screw him in the bathroom. Some might say seduce, but that generally implied a hidden agenda. She hid nothing and if necessary, she took by force if need be, whether they wanted it or not. At least she had until Chuck stopped her. He had shocked her so completely that she didn't even think to pursue her original course of action. Maybe the Doctor had been closer to the truth then anyone suspected when he suggested that she purposely disobeyed orders to screw Chuck.

Either way, it didn't really matter. What really mattered to her right now was finding out who this Sarah person is. Standard procedure is to always keep the files on the test subjects as updated as possible. Normally the file would have been fairly light and started just prior to the initial abduction, but from what the Doctor had let slip in his conversations and the actions she had seen so far of both the Doctor and the prisoners, she knew there had to be more in depth files on their guests. They should be easy to trace, as the Doctor must have input some kind of data into the system on her by now. She could trace his entries back to the file, hidden or not. The corners of her mouth turned up to form a smile as she pulled up the file system and began digging.

--

Chuck turned to her, "I need one of their phones. Preferably a phone with wireless network access."

_So much for her thinking that he didn't realize she was standing there. That meant he didn't care that she was watching him access the computer information. From what Laslo said, that could just mean he didn't consider her a threat and would kill her and Casey when they were least expecting it or it could be that he was just being "Chuck". Greaaat. It's not like she didn't have enough to worry about._

"Casey, check your guy for a phone. Chuck needs one." Sarah checked the downed agent nearest her. She pulled a phone off of him and looked up in time to see Casey toss her the other agent's phone.

"Here Chuck. Only two we've got". She put them next to him on the desk.

Chuck started with one closest. He typed something on the phone and it beeped at him. He tossed it down in disgust. He grabbed the second phone and repeated the procedure. The phone rang. "Yes!". He set the phone back down on the desk and clicked on the security box again. After a few moments he shifted out of the security box and moved to the one labelled communication network.

Casey was getting impatient. "Hurry up Chuck. These guys aren't going to wait forever."

Chuck activated some protocols and then typed in the phone number of the phone he was using. While the phone was downloading he reviewed the map for staff locations. A few seconds later he spoke in a remarkably calm voice. "Casey don't worry, there is only 2 other personnel on this floor. One is in the bathroom and the other is in her office on the far side of the complex."

Casey's head snapped over to look at Chuck then shifted his glance to Walker. She nodded. Casey relaxed slightly. He didn't know what Chuck was doing, but he looked like it was under control. Casey grunted to himself. Nice to see Bartowski show off some real talent for a change.

Seconds later Chuck pulled up another screen and typed a lengthy pass code. Immediately after hitting the enter key, the screen blanked and Chuck spun the chair around and stood up. "Lets go. I can use the phone display as a real time tracker and map display for the complex." He showed Casey a display of the current map on the phone LCD. "We are here and we need to get there."

Casey studied the map, memorizing the first few turns then looked at Sarah and gave her a slight smile and nodded yes, indicating he was impressed. "Ok Chuck, stick with us, but don't get ahead. We don't want any mistakes. Let's move out."

Sarah took position slightly ahead of Chuck and to the right. She was glad Casey was further ahead of her. She was more than a little worried about Chuck. _At least this way if Chuck decided to kill her and Casey, she might be able to stop him. Her stride paused slightly as she caught herself. What the hell was she thinking about? There was no actually proof Chuck would kill them, or that he even had accessed the old data_.

Casey motioned for them to stop.

_She didn't have time to think about this now. Priority was to get out of here with everyone alive and in one piece._

Casey whisper back to Chuck, "Chuck there is video surveillance down this hall. Did you disable any of the cameras?"

"Not exactly. But let me check to see if the work I did is still active." Chuck fiddles with the phone and shows Sarah the display. The camera feed from the hall ahead is now displayed on the phone. "Casey, were good to go. I can loop the feeds as we get to each camera. They will stop looping when I pick the next camera. Unfortunately I can't loop the feeds and detect staff at the same time."

Using the maps downloaded into the phone, the team plots a course through the staff and cameras leading them through a maze of hallways. Any secured doors were handled by Chuck. At each door Chuck typed in a code and the door opened with a beep and a green light.

In what feels like several minutes later Chuck stops. "We're almost there but the extra features on the phone will not function in the next section."

Sarah being closest, asked, "Why's that Chuck?"

"They have a security protocol in place to lock out any biosensor data beyond a certain point and attempted access will trigger an alarm. From what I could see, it's a failsafe design to prevent intruders in the warehouse area from detecting where the staff are in the rest of the complex. It also means we can't see staff in the warehouse using the phone as a remote device or we risk alerting them to where we are.

Casey shrugged. "I guess it's about time we do some old fashioned recon. We'll take it from here Chuck."

--

It didn't take Mary long to find the file or files in this case. Sarah had two files on her. One dummy file started from the abducting staff at the restaurant and another hidden one that had been updated by the Doctor.

There were actually four hidden files but she could only access two of them. The largest file, which she noted was extremely massive, and the smallest were completely inaccessible to her, but that was of little consequence as neither had been updated since transferred to their secure server a couple of days ago.

She was more interested in the files she could unlock, specifically the file on Agent Sarah Walker. The file had already been locked and encrypted for transport to the employer. Fortunately, she had learned the Doctor's encryption keys long ago for just such an occasion. She could open and reseal the files without him ever knowing. Once a project was completed all employer supplied information was forwarded back to them or permanently destroyed. Copies were never kept by mission personnel for deniability reasons.

The hidden file on Sarah Walker was a summary file for a deep cover CIA agent. Generally the Office supplied summary files only when the employer was worried about possibly releasing compromising information to too many people. This indicated either a powerful employer or an extremely important agent; or both.

In Sarah Walker's case the summary file was fairly brief. It stated that she was currently active and on a mission. Background info listed her as an excellent agent, but increasingly subject to emotional attachments that could compromise her status.

There were some references to several successful missions around the world, including some ties to the Australian Intelligence community. The only mission negative in her file was regarding some kind of poor intelligence overseas, resulting in the death of several thousand people. There was more data on the topics, but it didn't interest her as much as the latest entries by the Doctor detailing Chuck's attachment to the agent. Addendums to the file also included portions of the video feeds, including when she went crazy and killed their man by repeatedly stabbing him to death, as well as the recent kiss and hug from mere moments ago. Obviously the Doctor had compiled all the information he needed and had encrypted it just before she had unlocked it.

Ten minutes ago, she would have been ecstatic about someone breaking Sarah and Chuck up, but reading the information listed, she felt a slight chill. The data was clearly laid out for methods to manipulate the agent, against her will, into controlling Chuck.

She certainly couldn't fault the methodology, as it was all very logical. Her records indicated that she was used to seducing men. They could coerce her, with force if necessary, into getting Chuck to perform whatever task was required. With all her training, she would likely be able to hide it from him. Based on what she saw earlier, she had no doubt Chuck would do whatever Sarah asked; even if it wasn't in his best interest.

Mary felt more than a little disturbed at the thought and she had an idea on how to help fix that disturbance. Knowing that the Doctor was undoubtedly prepping for evacuation soon, she got to work on the solution.

--

Casey and Sarah led Chuck through the next set of doors into the main warehouse. They are standing on a slightly raised platform with several skids of barrels surrounding them. The platform has about five steps leading down to the main warehouse ground level. At the back of the warehouse are the ground level bay doors for loading and unloading freight. On their right and close to one of the bay doors exits is Casey's suburban. On the left and much closer to them is Chuck's Herder. It takes a moment for him to realize that the Doctor's team probably know it is modified and that would explain why it is sitting so far in from the exits.

While he is looking around Casey and Sarah each grab an arm of his and pull him down behind the barrels. Sarah and Casey have decided the Suburban is the obvious choice.

Sarah speaks quietly while Casey scouts ahead. "Chuck. Stay here while we scout the warehouse. When we give the all clear, you run to the suburban. Understand?"

Chuck nods and Sarah gives him a small smile before her and Casey slowly and stealthily head off towards the vehicle. While Chuck watches them go, he feels oddly weak and everything seemed to hurt. The longer he sits the worse it gets. _Oh god, not again, _he thinks. _What_ the hell did they give him that it keeps coming back? In their rush to escape he had forgotten to tell his team mates what had been done to him. The focus was on getting out alive. Besides, after the last debilitating attack he thought he was over it. The Doctor had said it would be a short term test; he just didn't remember asking exactly how long _short_ was in actual time.

While struggling with his thoughts on the drug, he feels the guard's phone vibrate. Without realizing it, he reflexively flipped the phone open before he can stop himself. Freezing up he says nothing but he recognizes the voice on the other end regardless. It is Mary!

"I am sending you two very short feeds to watch. There is more than one game being played and someone wants to manipulate all of you but I don't know who it is. I've done what I can. Goodbye Chuck."

Mary hangs up and Chuck proceeds to play the first completed video downloaded to the phone. It's of Sarah and Casey with two men. There is no sound, but the scene is very easy to follow. One of the men is leering at Sarah and grabs her arm. The moment he does so she explodes into action and attacks the man with a large knife. Chuck forces himself to watch but unconsciously squeezes his legs together in sympathy for the pain the man must feel when the knife repeatedly enters the groin and lower abdominal area. The camera doesn't show her face but Casey's clearly displays shock and what looks like fear before he grabs her from behind in an attempt to restrain her and sit her down against a wall before the video fades out. The time stamp on the video was accurate, it had happened shortly before they rescued him.

Taking a moment to process the violent images of Sarah, he looks around to find her moving slowly from cover to cover in the warehouse. They don't appear to have encountered anyone else yet. _Where was everyone?_ Before he has a chance to delve into either the violent images of Sarah or the lack of staff, the phone emits a small beep indicating the last download is done; it begins to play immediately.

This video he is familiar with. It is of the three of them shortly after the guards were killed and he asked Casey for five minutes. The video only lasts until just after he kisses her. After it fades he starts to wonder what the purpose is that video when the phone vibrates again. This time it's an anonymous text message. TXT: Avoid the Suburban!

His eyes snapped back up to search out Sarah and Casey in the warehouse. Scanning the room, Chuck didn't see one guard or any alarm system on the bay doors. Chuck got a very bad feeling in his gut. Sarah and Casey seemed oblivious to the fact that there was no one else around. Maybe it was the fact that he was in a position to see the whole warehouse floor, while they were moving in between crates, machines, and other large objects. Chuck immediately felt like he was watching rats in a maze. Looking at the layout, the maze ended at the vehicle. His bad feeling went to alarm bells.

Casey was reaching for the vehicle handle with Sarah on the opposite side of the vehicle. Chuck's intuition screamed at him, so much so, that he stood and began sprinting down the stairs, and past the Herder, yelling to warn them, "Its a tra...". Sarah had looked at Chuck when he started speaking but it didn't matter. He was too late.

The explosion shook the room and threw him back against the Herder. His left side had impacted with the Nerd Herder's drivers side mirror, smashing the mirror and housing like a toy, leaving side of the car slightly caved in. His left side felt like it was on fire and he couldn't breath. It took a moment before he could get up and clear his head. He was stunned by the noise and impact but his first impulse was to get to Sarah.

As his head cleared, his memory of the explosion jumped to the front of his thoughts. He had watched in horror as the driver's side door blew off the vehicle, slamming into Casey, and launching him backwards into some crates a fair distance away. Sarah was tossed like a rag doll across the warehouse towards Chuck before landing on some stacked tires.

Chuck, forgetting any pain he had, ran yelling her name. "Sarah! Sarah!" He needed to see if she was alive. He silently prayed, "_Please let her be ok"_.

As he half stumbled and half jogged towards her he looked over where the burning husk of a vehicle now sat. The overhead door that it was parked near has been torn off its track and is hanging precariously. The only operational vehicle left in the warehouse is his Nerd Herder. If they were hoping for a quiet escape, it wasn't going to happen now. While he didn't hear any alarms, there was no way this escape was going unnoticed. They needed to hurry.


	20. Chptr 20 Jacked Up Herder

**Chapter 20 **

**Jacked up Herder **

Mary is watching the warehouse video feed while reporting to the Doctor on the other side of the room. "They are in the warehouse, and have triggered the suburban explosive trap. There must have been a problem with the explosive charge. From what I can see both agents are currently down, but Charles had held back far enough that he appears unhurt."

The Doctor, having recently returned to the lab from some other errand, seems unperturbed by the development. "Set the facility charge timer and download data for transport or appropriate destruction. It is time for us to leave. I will be in my office gathering my notes. Inform me when you are done."

Mary nods and The Doctor turns to leave the room.

When he is gone, Mary knows without a doubt, the Doctor is running more than one project, as the suburban should have killed all of them, yet even though her warning didn't make it in time, the charge somehow malfunctioned and it is likely that the agents and Chuck will make it out alive. Oddly enough, while she finds herself leaning towards a preference of seeing them _all _alive, she is more concerned about her thoughts of the Doctor.

The more she thinks about it, the more she thinks that her working relationship with the Doctor is nearing an end.

--

The Doctor is standing behind a desk in his office. In front of him is an open briefcase. He pulls some files from a drawer and tosses them into briefcase. Only the three topmost file names are visible; Assessment, Compound and Upgrades. He closes his ultrathin laptop and rests it in the briefcase on top of the files. The Doctor closes the briefcase and dials a number on his cell phone.

There is a slight pause before The Doctor begins speaking.

"It's done." He pauses, obviously listening to a response from the person on the other end of the call.

"No, they are leaving the facility now." Pause.

"Yes, although their might still be causalities. I _did_ modify the charge, but it had to look realistic for my staff." Pause.

"My staff suspects nothing." Pause.

"No, he's fine. They kept him back while they scouted ahead, as expected." Pause.

"Yes, the compound tested successfully. With their help we were able to track more down exacting data on the anomaly and its connection to the resistance noted during our earlier tests." Pause.

"No, he received a triple dose, so unless his resistance lasts long enough, he will go through some periods of extended pain until it breaks down in about 24 hours." Pause.

"May I remind you that you authorized full and unrestricted access to determine the effectiveness of the compound and to answer your next question; no, it shouldn't affect his abilities." Pause.

"Yes, I documented that in the report. All the information you required on them is enclosed in the file the Office will forward to you after its cleared." Pause.

"The standard fee will be levied by the Office. The extra work we agreed to will be at triple the standard plus a bonus if everyone lives. Paid direct to me, of course. Your staff have my banking information already." Pause.

"Agreed. 48 hours should be enough time to ensure whether they all survive or not. I will expect to see the money in my account in 2 days." Pause.

"Pleasure doing business with you. You can expect the compound to be available online shortly. I will have Mary set it up." Pause.

"Premium clients get premium service, my dear."

The Doctor hangs up and immediately dials a second number.

"They are on their way out." Pause.

"No, but it's not clear whether they will all make it out unscathed." Pause.

"He should recover, albeit it will be a painful one." Pause.

"Yes, the data was slipstreamed successfully with no apparent side effects." Pause.

"I expect payment as per the terms discussed." Pause.

"Your staff has my account information. I expect all work to be paid directly to it." Pause.

"Let it be said I am a fair man. How does 48 hours before final payment of the bonus sound?" Pause.

"Fine. To hold the premium positioning for the bidding, you can forward the normal payment fee directly to the Office, as usual." Pause.

"His dosage will last approximately 24 hours." Pause.

"Always a pleasure doing business with our premium clientele."

The Doctor grinned widely as he hung up the phone.

--

It took only a few seconds to reach her. It was readily apparent that she was partially conscious and very confused. The left side of her shirt is red with blood. Sarah has definitely been hurt, but how badly was the question. Chuck knelt down and cradled her head in his lap. She is floating in and out of consciousness. "Sarah! Sarah! Can you hear me?"

Sarah winces as she shifts her head towards the sound of his voice. Her response is quiet and it is evident she is in some kind of pain. "Chuck? Wha...what happened? Are you alright?" As she asks about him she attempts to sit up and her there is a sharp intake of breath before she gives up and relaxes back into her prone position.

"No Sarah! Don't move, your hurt. I'm just fine. He pauses a moment in an attempt to capture her gaze as he tries to assess whether or not she is capable of understanding the next bit of information he has to tell her. "Sarah, the suburban was rigged. I didn't realize something was wrong until too late. But it's ok Sarah, it's ok. Your ok." His voice had cracked a little as he spoke." He saw her face change slightly as she focused on him. He knew he was doing a poor job of hiding the situation from her. In an effort to keep her calm he tells her, "Don't worry, Casey and I will get help."

She slowly lifts a hand to his face and gentle pulls his head down. She wants to say something but seems unable to speak loudly enough. He leans closer to hear what she has to say. With his ear almost to her mouth he makes out what she is saying.

"Chuck...I am sooooo sorry; about all of it, I didn't understand how you felt at dinner, then the car, and then we were taken but escaped. Later we thought you were being tortured. We came back and I lost it trying to get to you...". Her voice trailed off briefly. "Chuck, we didn't know they had you." Her voice is getting weaker as she is speaking. She is close to passing out when she continues. "Chuck, maybe we shouldn't have agreed to make it real. I will end up just hurting you, mostly because I am so bad at relationships."

Chucks' face turns to astonishment and shock. He snaps his head back to look at Sarah, and while he sees a tear running down her face, he realises she has fainted. He immediately looks at the wound in her side. There is a blood. A lot of blood. Ripping off a portion of his shirt he wads it into a ball and holds it against the wound in Sarah's side.

Chuck's heart is racing and he is near panic, he looks for Casey and spots him moving towards them.

Casey is limping, dragging his right leg a bit and cradling his left arm. Other than some bruises and possibly broken bones, he still looks intact. The suburban door appears to have protected him from some of the debris. Dropping heavily to the ground with a painful grunt, Casey inspects her wounds.

"Casey, Sarah is hurt. You have to help her!" Chuck is clearly very worried as he watches Casey check her over. Apparently he is fearful for good reason. Looking up from his inspection of her, he gives him the bad news. "Chuck, the wound itself doesn't look bad, but she's bleeding like a stuck pig. Must've struck something important. We would need to get her to a medical facility now. If the emergency phone in the nerd herder isn't disabled we can use it."

Chuck is up and running for it before Casey is done speaking. He knows about the phone. He had been shown after the Laslo incident and knew exactly where to look. He felt stupid for not remembering it sooner.

With the phone in hand, Casey made an emergency call for help. Chuck wasn't really paying attention to what he said; he was too busy keeping pressure on her wound. He had learned a few things living with two doctors. Still, the blood was seeping out between his fingers. Frantic he looked at Casey for some sign of good news. As he looked up, Casey lowered the phone, his face oddly sad. Chuck could feel a coldness settle about him.

"Chuck, there is a medical facility nearby but the backup I called is still at least 25 minutes away. I have a chopper incoming, but its eta is 15 minutes. The nearest hospital is about 35 minutes normal driving. I'm no doctor, but I've seen enough wounds in the field to know that she's got about 15-20 minutes before she bleeds out. Even if the chopper gets here on time, I don't think they will be able to get her to the hospital in time."

Chuck's response is immediate and angry. "So I'm just supposed to watch her die!?" I don't fucking think so! We can drive and the chopper can meet us on the way."

As beat up as he was, Casey's eyebrows rose at the amount of anger in Chuck's words, not to mention the slip in language. The kid did have balls, just never seemed to pull them out of the drawer much. In this situation though, strong language wasn't going to save his partner or Chuck's girlfriend. He grimaced and broke the news to him. "Chuck you're not an agent and don't realize what it takes to get there. There is no way we can make it. I don't know if you've noticed but I'm not exactly in the best of conditions to drive a toy Herder on a high speed rescue mission right now."

He paused as he watched Chuck look around. _Funny. He had the strangest look in his eyes as his gaze flicked from the Herder to Walker and back to the Herder. It's like he was working something out in his head. No matter, nothing can be done now._

"Chuck, these things happen. I don't like it anymore than you, but she knew what she was getting into when she chose to be an agent."

Chuck is still defiant and extremely angry, "Yah, well I didn't chose to be the Intersect, and I'm not going to sit here watching her die." Chuck stands up and gently carries her to his captured nerd herd car. "Are you coming or staying Casey??"

Casey looks at Chuck with a hint of sadness and struggles to his feet, stumbling after Chuck, "Somebody has to watch out for you two." The words carry only reflect fatigue and disappointment in the situation. None of the usual gruff caustic overtones are present in Casey's words.

Chuck placed Sarah carefully into the passenger side, reclining the seat and fastening her seatbelt. He helped Casey in through the driver's side door before jumping behind the wheel, letting Casey reposition himself in the backseat of the vehicle. With Sarah fully reclined Casey can lean across her and keep pressure on Sarah's' wound while keeping his own leg mostly straight. His leg doesn't appear to be broken but it is obviously injured.

"I hope you know what you're doing Chuck. You only have about 15 minutes to get to the hospital."

Chuck is momentarily overwhelmed. He glances into the rear view mirror and sees a worried look on Casey's bloody, scratched face. They had been caught off guard with the explosion and things had not gone well.

Casey doesn't notice Chuck watching him, as he is busy trying to apply pressure to Sarah's wound. Chuck shifts his stare to Sarah's wound, then her face. He is not sure how to save her. As he stares at her face for what seems like an eternity, he feels the anger from earlier rising within him again. _She has done everything in her power to save me and her I sit watching her die, while Casey tries his best to keep her alive._ _They even came back for him when the realized he was in the facility, after he had helped them escape._ _Now Casey has taken me at my word that I would save her. Why am I doing NOTHING! _

The voice in Chucks head screams until something shifts and the tingling sensation is back, spreading over him followed by an overwhelming calm. Almost like refreshing cold water has been poured over his overheated body. He knows his heart is beating a mile a minute, but his mind is razor sharp. He experiences a sudden impulse to look down at the Nerd Herder radio controls and flashes when he does look. He immediately knows it's different than the last two weird tingles he had. The first allowed him to recall his own memories of Sarah, the second gave him access to someone else's training memories and this one is definitely not like them. It is slightly painful, but it's more like reading stereo instructions. Like his brain has just sucked up an instruction manual.

Refocusing on the Herder controls he realizes that he can actually see two or more sets of words on the buttons. Looking at the car radio, specifically the preset radio station button 1, he now sees several words _in color _to boot. Rocket is in red, Booster is in blue, etc. It reminds him of a calculator, where you press the function key to use the blue labels on the keys or the 2nd button to activate the yellow labels, while the default functions are listed as white.

Another thing he notices is that he is actually able to think _and _looking around while this is occurring. Normally he would zone out, but with this new one he is able to keep the flash on and continue doing whatever he needs to. Almost like layers of data on a video screen, each one fully transparent and movable at will. A mental version of a Heads Up Display (HUD). Strangely, he notices that some of the designs have been modified and upgraded in his Herder since the initial Laslo design a few months ago, but he is not sure how he knows this. With no time to contemplate idiosyncrasies he refocuses on the task at hand.

With the new flash and subsequent realization of what was happening to him all occurring in a span not much longer than the blink of an eye, Chuck shifts focus and on his objective. Get to the hospital in 15 minutes or less.

As the primary user he was able to start the car without a key; a feature added after the Laslo incident. With the car running and the Nerd Herd Agent controls activated, his first task on the list was to bring the superchargers and blower combinations online. This increased his acceleration and top speed considerably. As this was a Laslo design, it went well beyond the specifications of commercial units. The booster and nitro activations automatically turned on the computer controlled suspension designed to work with the upgraded traction and safety systems needed to handle the increased speed and maneuvrability while driving and cornering.

Next up, Chuck brought the Nitrous and Rocket Boosters from inactive online, into an active status, ready to use at the push of a button. While the Nitrous and Booster had limited uses, each had its own strengths and weaknesses. The Nitrous was good for short boosts. In its current design, once you turned the Nitrous on, it stayed on until each mini tank was drained. The Booster was more useful in longer stretches, preferably in straight lines and could be turned on and off as long as the tank contained fuel but the rate of rocket fuel consumption matched the speed it provided...extremely fast.

Last to turn on was the missile launcher. Unlike the speed enhancements, it was either on and ready to use or off. There was no middle ground. Chuck had no immediate use for the 3 mini-missiles that the herder held, but he was not going to let chance tamper with his ability to get Sarah to the hospital in time.

Chuck looked at Casey sprawled awkwardly across the back seat of the car, partially draped over Sarah to help hold the makeshift bandage in place. While it seemed like minutes in the car, everything had occurred in a few short seconds as Casey had just finished positioning himself.

Casey saw Chuck looking at him in the rear view mirror and is shocked. Chuck is ...different. Casey can see what look like moisture drying on Chucks' cheek, but more importantly, his face displays overwhelming determination.

As if feeling Casey stare, Chuck turned to towards him to make direct eye contact and calmly spoke, "Hang on Casey. The clock is ticking".

Chuck punched the gas pedal to the floor. The vehicle response was immediate. The tires briefly begin to smoke from the rapid spinning, at least until the traction control kicked in and the car rocketed forward, pinning Chuck and Casey to the seats. Chuck used the exit provided by the Suburban explosion, boxes and debris bouncing off the sides and roof of the car as he steers around and in some cases through the objects on his way to the broken door.

Once outside, the immediate surroundings vaguely registered on Chuck. They are in some kind of industrial complex wedged in a small valley. There is only one road paved road into the facility and it is directly ahead and sloped slightly downwards. It is fairly late and there is no traffic in the area. Without hesitation, Chuck punches buttons for the nitrous and booster. Activating either was a huge boost. Activating both at once is incredibly dangerous and the vehicle to screaming and shaking under forced acceleration.

Casey is thankful for the warning as he barely had enough time to grab the sides of her reclined seat, using his body to help pin her into it, as well as keep himself from flying around the cab. When Chuck doesnt let up on the accelerator Casey hazards a quick lift of his head to glance at the dash. His face is somewhat grim when he puts his head down. The needle is showing 10mph. Casey is quite confident that it is broken, as the darkened buildings they were passing were no more than a blur. At this rate, the CIA techs should've remembered to put wings on this thing. At least the flight would've been a little smoother. A small smile escaped his mouth as he held on to Sarahs seat for dear life.

By the time Herder began to slow slightly from the vehicle maximum both the booster and nitrous where showing up as one charge down on the tactical LCD sitting in the dash. They had left the single lane road a ways back and were now moving into more of the actual city streets.

Looking from the LCD to the road ahead Chuck realized that the first set of intersection lights ahead are red. The moment his brain registers the red light another of the newest flashes rips into his head. This time it contained a map of the city, the statistical data for traffic flows at this time of night, as well as the exact times the intersection lights were set to change. It showed him how to access the video cameras located at the busiest intersections and how to tap into the city street light controls, via the Herder, in order to link them to the car GPS data. Seconds after the flash was done, Chuck had charted the fastest route to the hospital.

His largest obstacle was a shopping mall near the ½ way point. Knowing the quickest route meant he had to handle the mall obstacle. That was when the newest flash occurred a 3rd time. It was an architectural map of the mall and surrounding area. It was late and the mall should be empty. At least he hoped it would be. He used the Nerd Herd controls to tap into the mall security system and listed guard routes and schedules. Next he pulled up all video surveillance cameras that watch the entrances and stores that are in his direct path to the hospital. Chuck glanced at Casey holding on to Sarah's motionless body in the passenger seat. He couldn't afford to let her down; her life depended on it. He needed to get to the hospital and critical time limits required creative routing solutions.

Casey had pretty much given up on sitting in the back seat while simply leaning over and holding on to Walker. With the way Chuck was driving he had been forced to lay across her and grab either side the reclined seat. He had his face turned towards Chuck when he noticed Chuck glance down at them. He didn't really seem to see him, but he knew that he was really looking through him, _at her_. A chill slipped down Casey's back. The eyes looked very similar to when Walker went crazy and killed the man with the knife. Looking at the passing scenery as it flew by in the night, and the way Chuck was driving, there were eerie similarities between the two separate events. Hell, Chuck was driving, if you could call it that, with one hand, while using the other to tap in commands on the Herder controls. When he looked down at them he was _still _dodging shit on the roads. He didn't know how he was doing it, but he sure as hell wasn't going to ask the kid right now.

A remote part of Chuck noted the passing vehicles and people. He had little concern for them. It isn't that he wouldn't have cared if he hit them. On the contrary, he would've been devastated if he had hurt someone while saving Sarah. It is just that he was registering them as quickly as he registered the hidden data in pictures. The people and cars were noted and avoided by his actions on an unconscious level. While his body was not as physically fast as his brain, his subconscious was intimately more efficient at controlling physical responses than the conscious mind. Besides, if the subconscious did it, the conscious wouldn't always remember it.

Chuck never heard the wail of the police sirens that gave chase. Nor did he hear them recede from hearing as they gave up in very short order. Chuck never saw the look of shock on Casey's face when he used the Herder missiles on the walls of the mall to facilitate a shortcut. Chuck never really heard Casey screaming at him about getting them all killed or at the very least fired for not protecting Chuck.

Hell, at one point Casey thought for sure they were going to buy the farm. A security guard had heard the noise and changed his route to investigate. Chuck had waited a little bit longer to use the second missile to exit the mall to compensate and avoid hurting him. Casey didn't know why he waited so long to fire. What he did know was Chuck had just hit the Rocket Booster for extra speed, forcing the littler Herder to burst towards the still intact wall with renewed vigor.

Casey was now convinced Bartowski had gone totally insane and was going to kill them all. In a _mall_. In a _Nerd Herd car_. That was assuming they could extract the squished remains from the car.

At the last possible moment Chuck fired _both _remaining missiles. The explosion was exceedingly loud as bricks rained down everywhere, like oversized hailstones.

When Casey started breathing again, he couldn't believe they were still alive. That confirmed it. He wasn't afraid to die, he was afraid Chuck would get him killed in the most embarrassing way possible. In spite of his recent thoughts questioning Chuck's sanity, Casey suddenly smiled.

With the damage done to the mall, they would need help cleaning up. It was time to start calling in the NSA cleaners for cleanup and damage control. While Chuck was on a straight away Casey used the opportunity to lean off of Walker enough to retrieve the Herder phone from the dash.

Chuck never heard Casey tell the incoming NSA helicopter everything was under control, but a cleanup crew would required at the mall and the hospital and that the any high speed police chase reports would need to be dealt with. Chuck never noticed as Casey discreetly disarmed himself and Sarah of all weapons, prior to arrival at the civilian hospital. He simply stuffed the weapons in the Herders hidden dash compartment.

Chuck's ears did pick up the conversation when Casey used the Herders' phone to contact the hospital for arrival preparations of at least one critically injured patient. Mere moments after Casey placed the call to the hospital, Chuck rounded a corner hard and their destination loomed ahead.

The tires screamed in protest and the whole car shook violently as it skidded and bounced to a halt, leaving large, long black tire marks on the payment in front of the emergency entrance. It was sheer luck that the last of the mall bricks had slid off the car a few blocks back. The car was pretty damaged, but there was no indication that they had used it to drive through the mall. That's not to say it didn't look like it participated in a full contact crash up derby event, but not through the walls of a mall. The missiles had been quite effective road block removers.

Casey was shockingly quiet and complacent as the car screeched to a stop. He did notice that just before staff got to the car, Chuck had reset the controls to hidden mode, noting with no small sense of awe that the charge related enhancements on the vehicle had large blinking red zeroes next to their names before the LCD screen rotated back into the dash.

Chuck punched the shutdown codes before the staff could get within sight of the vehicle. He then leaned over and popped her door open, giving the arriving staff better access. Casey had already sat up and had removed her seatbelt to allow the staff a faster removal. Looking at the Herder in clock dash, Chuck watched as the digital clock minutes incremented by one. It was now exactly 15 minutes since he had decided to take action to save her life. He just hoped it was enough.

He looked at the staff as more had come to his side of the vehicle to help him out. As he stepped out of the car, he noticed one of the staff was waiting off to the side. It was then he realized that he was part of the cleanup crew, here to take the car. He looked directly at him and nodded ever so slightly. The man was quite surprised but did smile slightly and gave an almost imperceptible nod in acknowledgement. Chuck turned away and excused himself from the care of the hospital staff, in an effort to focus on following Sarah.

Casey didn't like disorder, nor did he like to be touched, yet the staff around the car was loud and chaotic enough to be interpreted as disorderly. Hospital staff rushed to the vehicle to remove Sarah and Casey and place them on stretchers. He let them remove him from the car and place him on a gurney without a word.

As Chuck came around the car on his way to Sarah's stretcher, the only word Casey could get out of his shocked mouth was a simple, "How?"

Chuck looked at him with a vacant expression and gave no answer as he followed the staff pushing Sarah into the hospital.

Laying on the gurney, thoughts were racing through Casey's head.

_How did Chuck know how to operate the Herder? _

_How did he know when and where to go? _

_Where did he learn how to drive like that? _

_How was he able to time the lights? How did he get the guts to blow up and DRIVE THROUGH a mall? _

_How did he know that all the speed enhancements would be enough to get here in time? _

_Is he really an agent? _

_Has he been lying to them all along? _

_Even more importantly; what did Sarah say to him to trigger the change? Is she hiding his secret? Does she know he is an agent? Is that why she wants to be in a real relationship with him, because he's an agent and not an asset?_

At his best, Casey knew he couldn't have made that run in less than 20 minutes and that's assuming he used a real vehicle, not a pumped up toy like the Herder. Yet here they are. Chuck used a toy Herder and made it in under 15 minutes.

Someone will be answering some questions on this one and Casey wanted to be the one asking. Hell, he needed to be the one asking. If it was anyone else from the agencies, the _asking method _might be a little too violent. In the mean time, he needed some well deserved rest and he was glad they made it in time to save Walker.

Still, Bartowski was in for a world of hurt. About the only clear fact that he had to go on was that Chuck and Sarah belonged together. They weren't going to have a normal relationship; it was more like some kind of weird match made in heaven...or hell. They both went completely insane when the other was incapacitated. Of course their insanity did bring astonishing results. Regardless of their differing skill sets, on a basic level they functioned like peas in a pod.

Vegetable revelations aside, it still didn't make the Herder trip to the hospital any easier. Overall, the ride wasn't what he had expected.

Not at all.

--


	21. Chptr 21 Hospitalized

_**A/N: Warning –**__ The next couple of chapters will include sexual references/situations, and while not particularly explicit in description, it will be inferred. i.e. If you've done it before, you will know exactly what is going on. Sexual wording is limited to fall more into a Teen rating. Minor offensive language warning._

**Chapter 21 **

**Hospitalized**

Chuck followed the gurney as far as he could. Watching as they hurriedly hooked up the prepared IV's while in transit to the operating room. They stopped him at the operating room doors. He stared through the small window in the swinging doors until a nurse pulled Chuck aside and handed him a stack of forms.

"For her admittance", the nurse said.

Before he had a chance to drop his bewildered expression, another nurse walked up and took the stack of forms from him while she pulled him into an examination room. Slowly looking at the hand that had held the clipboard, Chuck simply shifted his dumbfounded expression from his now empty hand, to the nurse that was trying to sit him down on a bed. She was saying something but it took a moment from for his brain to focus.

"Are you taking any drugs? Sir, are you taking any illegal drugs or on any medication?"

Realizing she was talking to him he shook his head no. He could've sworn he heard her mumble something about possible shock or brain damage. Either way, he didn't really feel like listening. Instead he settled on watching her pull instruments and carts in towards where he sat.

It took him a moment to appreciate the fact that he didn't exactly look too great. Looking down at himself he noticed his shirt was ripped in several places, he still had bruising on his shoulder and bruises had begun appearing on his chest and left side where he had been thrown into the Herder. Of course, that was inconsequential compared to the large amount of blood covering the front of his shirt and pants, not to mention his face, hands and arms. It was all Sarah's blood, but the nurse didn't know that.

He suffered through her poking and prodding for what felt like forever. Once she was satisfied the blood was not his they insisted on checking him for other trauma. He didn't appear to be in shock, although he did have a higher than normal heart rate and his blood pressure was up. This was normal for the current situation. Checking his chest, it seemed a little sore but it wasn't overly painful. They suggested that he might have a couple of cracked ribs and should take it easy for a while. Nothing else was noted in the check up, so he was given a pass on his bill of health, at least for now. He could be checked more thoroughly once he finished the paperwork.

Looking the paperwork over, now larger, as they had added his and Casey's to it, he realized he knew nothing about them. He wasn't sure what to write for any of it. He sighed in frustration. He made a mental reminder to ask them what he should be writing on these hospital reports before the next mission. That's if they had a next one.

He hadn't noticed the woman in front of him until she cleared her throat. Standing before him was a reasonably decent looking nurse in her mid 40's. She could easily pass for some aging soccer mom. She looked him directly in the eyes and held out a hand. It took him a second to catch on.

"Wow. You guys are efficient, aren't yah." He said, recognizing her as an agent.

Her eyes darted to the left and right, scouting for nearby ears before she responded. "We try." she said, while giving him a terse smile before taking the pile of forms from him.

With the forms out of the way he was going to have to check on Casey. A worried glance towards the operating room doors was about all he could do for Sarah.

--

The Doctor never let go of his briefcase after taking it off his desk. He carried it with him on the way to the helicopter. Mary stayed close, albeit a step behind the Doctor, and eyed his briefcase several times on their quick walk to exit the facility. Just before they took the elevator to the rooftop helipad, the Doctor stopped at a room labelled Incinerator. Punching his key code, he entered the room. May waited patiently outside. When he exited the room a moment later, he was no longer carrying the briefcase.

As he stepped towards the elevator, he failed to see May's slight smile as she knew he had followed Office protocols to destroy all on site data that was all ready forwarded to the Office via the server connection. That meant her changes to the Doctor's server files would never be noticed, unless the Doctor was later contracted to perform some kind of follow up mission on the same subjects.

While the chance of a follow up mission was extremely small, she already had contingency plans for that.

--

Casey was easy to find. They hadn't taken him far in the emergency wing and Chuck could hear him giving the nurses a hard time, well before he even got to the close to Casey's room. Apparently Casey had nothing broken, but he was pretty banged up. Casey saw Chuck smiling and leaning against the door frame of his room. He chased the nurses away with the premise that he needed to use the washroom and he could damn well do it by himself. As soon as the nurses were out of the room, he motioned Chuck to come in.

"Chuck, I spoke to the agents on clean up. The Herder and all your little driving stunts have been taken care of. Well, all of them except for the mall of course." As Casey says this, he gives Chuck a look that one would only give someone they think is a little unstable. "The cover story we were going to go with was that we had a flat in the industrial area of the city. We stopped a little too close to some gas tanks and things went boom."

Chuck raised his eyebrows. "Uh, Casey. Isn't that a bit lame? It sounds like something a 10 year old came up with."

Casey grimaced. "That's exactly why we're not going to use it. Sometime after we arrived here the facility blew up. I assume to cover their tracks. We're just going to modify the hospital forms a bit to say we came in after the explosion. We can say we were too close when it happened, and that's how we got hurt."

Chuck grinned. "Well that's _much _better." He snorted.

"What the hell do you want Bartowski! Tell people the local Buy More geek drove his secret nitrous, rocket powered Nerd Herd car through a mall to save his agent buddies from certain death!?"

Chuck paused for a moment, and then said in a surprised voice, "Agent Buddies?"

Casey froze for the briefest of moments as he experienced deja vu, before he realized his mistake, too late to stop Chuck's reaction.

Chuck with a huge grin on his face he loudly pronounced, AH..HA! I KNEW IT!

Casey's face shifted from annoyed to pissed, as Chuck has drawn the attention of everyone in the hallway.

Grabbing Chuck under the arm, he roughly pulls him further into the room and out of sight of everyone. "Bartowski, get over here and shut the hell up!"

Chuck, slightly wide eyed at his reaction, "Okayyyy. No need to snap."

Casey could barely hold his annoyance in check as he analyzed Chuck's face. Whatever happened in the car, Chuck seems to be over _it_; whatever _it _was. He is definitely back to being an annoying pain in the ass.

Biting off the words, Casey responds, "We'll fine tune the details as we go. Now get your ass out of here and go check on Walker. I don't need help to use the bathroom."

"Right!. I'm on it big guy", giving Casey an exaggerated wink as turned to walk away.

Casey decided he needed something for his headache and the pain he was developing in his ass.

Chuck was pretty upbeat on his way to see Sarah. All things considered, things were going pretty well. Sarah was going to be fine; he avoided the thought that she wouldn't be anything other than fine. Casey was back to his old grumpy self and he felt great. His smile faltered a little as sudden jolts of pain laced through his left side causing him to stumble slightly as he gasped. The hallway was empty at the moment and no one was there to see him falter, for which he was glad. They would find some obscure reason for him not to check on Sarah. Of that he was sure.

A momentary flash of weakness spread through him, like he lacked the energy to do anything before it disappeared as quickly as it had come. He had almost forgotten about the Doctors experiment. The pain associated with it came back with the memories. It started in his chest and spread to his joints before moving everywhere else.

He thought about turning around to get Casey and tell him about what was happening, but before he could even finish his thought, the pain and weakness was gone. It had never done that before.

Shrugging it off, he figured it is most likely his side causing the problems. He did hit the Herder pretty hard. Like all injuries, they seem to build to critical mass sometime after the initial injury.

Looking back at Casey's room, he decided that it was better to check on Sarah first. He would tell Casey later and get that follow up, the nurse recommended, on his ribs right after talking to Casey. He would mention the injections they gave him again at the facility and see what Casey thought about it. He should have covered that with him a few minutes ago, but it didn't seem as important anymore.

At least not in comparison to having Casey pissed at him. The thought of avoiding Casey's wrath brought a slight smile to his face, but it faded just as fast as he saw the surgeon that was in charge of Sarah, exit the operating room and approach him.

--

The Doctor and Mary had disembarked the helicopter immediately upon arrival.

"Mary, after you get yourself cleaned up, confirm the facility's destruction went as planned and meet me at the limo."

"Yes sir."

As the helicopter lifted off, Mary and the Doctor separated and entered separate rooftop doors to the high rise building.

--

Chuck hadn't expected to see her come out of surgery and the recovery room quite this fast, but looking at the clock on the wall, it has been over 4 hours since their arrival. Between the paperwork that he didn't know what to do with and the exam they insisted in performing on him, time had zipped by.

Knowing that the man walking towards him held news on Sarah's condition made his heart jump into his throat. Unwilling to control and unable to hide his concern he asked, "How is she? Is she ok?"

With his focus on the surgeon, he doesn't notice that Casey had followed him and is standing only a few feet behind when the surgeon begins to speak.

The surgeon had long ago become accustomed to worried loved ones and his responses where simple and blunt to minimize potential misunderstandings. Giving Chuck a small tired smile, he began. "She is doing just fine. We were able to stop the bleeding fairly quickly once we got in there. She has been given blood to cover what she lost and is sleeping now."

The man gave Chuck a once over, noting the bloody, torn shirt and able to see some of the dark bruising beneath. "You must be the young man that brought her in?"

Chuck was a little sheepish with his response, "Yah, she seemed to be hurt pretty bad and I didn't want to lose her."

"Well I'm sure she will be grateful you did. That little piece of shrapnel was stuck in a very bad spot, causing considerable blood loss. If would've arrived just a few minutes later, it probably would've been too late."

Chuck's face flashed a look somewhere between relief and being ill. Recovering quickly, Chucks face lit up like a Christmas tree as he quickly realized he would be able to see her. "Can I see her?" The surgeon couldn't help smiling at such unrestrained enthusiasm.

"Yes you can. She is in room 13. We're keeping her for observation and recovery for at least a day before we release her. You can see her for a bit, but don't tax her too much, she will still be very weak from the blood loss and the medication from surgery."

Chuck was off running before the doctor finished talking.

Casey, still watching, emits a strangely satisfying grunt before turning back to his room. _Walker is going to be alright. That's one less problem he thought. Strike that. Two less problems, if you count the way they interact when the other is down and out._

Hoping for some down time, was out of the question. A brief message from HQ stated that he is still on duty and currently the only active agent to protect Chuck. Due to the volatile nature of the location, it was determined that he would not receive any more agents for protection, as any moles might use it as an opportunity to grab him.

While cleanup crews could fly under the radar, extra agents assigned to protection meant more attention on the location.

Crap.

He slowly turned to head down to room 13 to keep an eye on Bartowski. Last thing he needs is somebody to snatch him from the hospital and start a repeat of the restaurant incident that got them into this mess. Room 13 is at the other end of the emergency wing and Bartowski is already out of sight. No surprise there.

He shook his head as he walked, wondering how Walker had ever planned to get Chuck to hide his feelings for her. Making it worse was that she was almost as bad as Chuck. The constant touching, smiling and unnecessary talking, not to mention the over the top concern for each other. As bad as he thought it would be, it's better if they are dating.

At least he knows where they are and where he finds one, he finds the other.

Casey smirked as he limped to catch up to Chuck.

--

Mary and the Doctor are sitting inside a large stretch limo. The car is moving, but the windows are all heavily tinted and neither passenger is looking at the scenery. Mary is seated directly across from the Doctor but she is looking down at an open laptop that is sitting next to her. The Doctor is holding a glass of what appears to be alcohol and is watching Mary.

She begins speaking without looking up. "The facility was destroyed as you requested. There will be no trace of our involvement. On another note, the subjects survived the explosion and were able to make it out and get help."

The Doctor does not appear to be paying any particular attention to what she says; instead his eyes are skimming up down her body before he responds. "Mmhmm. It's of no consequence. They know nothing about us and have no leads to follow."

Mary knows he is preoccupied studying her. She has been around him long enough to know what he will want next. In the meantime she continues to probe for a slip in the conversation in hopes of determining who was paying him. That would be the first step in retrieving her share of the money owed.

Keeping her eyes down, she asks, "We were indeed fortunate to stumble across such a good set of subjects to test the toxin on."

Finishing his drink he leans to the side, pulling a bottle of whiskey out of the minibar to refill the glass. Shrugging he says, "Well, its behind us now. I believe we have adequate data on those conditions to proceed in other directions. In the mean time, notify our overseas contacts and inform them of the new drug for sale.

She nodded and typed a few commands into the laptop. "I have the office secure site up. What do you want to list it as?"

Taking a swallow of his drink, he pauses to think. Breaking in wide grin he begins dictating.

"List it as a truth _enhancer_. Bullet points will be,

a) Pain without medieval torture methods,

b) Known pain killers will not work and the subject cannot be drugged to sleep in order to wait out compound expiration,

c) Experienced and expensive torturers and supplementary equipment is not required,

d) It is completely biodegradable for easy disposal or if spilled,

e) The pain is not localized to the injection point but instead affects the entire body,

f) Does not require multiple injections per subject,

g) It is completely untraceable once injected,

h) The affects will dissipate as it breaks down naturally in the body within 24-48 hours

i) Tangent usage can include:

+ Untraceable assassinations – get revenge or teach that particular someone a painful lesson through over dosage. Multiple doses may cause insanity before death. Multiple doses given at the same time do not extend compound life. Extended times, provided subject lives through initial dose, can be done by staggering doses.

+ Relationship testing – determine if your subject is compromised or involved with someone.

+ Extremely low dosages administered to high tolerance personnel can act as a simulator – subject cannot pass out or fall asleep from any known drug or toxin. Two fold increase in resistance to asphyxiation.

Contact the Office directly for more information on any and all topics."

Mary finishes typing almost immediately after he is done speaking. "I will notify the usual contacts. Will we be including the standard government agencies as well?"

"Of course. A customer is a customer, and the world governments are exceptional ones at that."

He takes another swallow of his drink before he continues. "Remember to offer 1st world customers the option for exclusive rights for a set amount of years. The last few compounds sold exceptionally well to the CIA for an exclusive 10 year contract. I'm _very _inclined to believe that they will be receptive to another such offer."

"I have included them. I just need the base bid price and I will post it immediately."

Finishing his drink again, he looks wistfully in the glass before looking at Mary. "Would you like a drink?" He turned to pour himself another.

"I'm good thanks. If I may so, you seem to be enjoying it for both of us."

"That I am. I received some big news today. Life changing, you could say." He is quiet for a moment, staring out the window before he turns back to Mary. "List the bid as open, but amend the bid notice to include the following phrase. _Unreasonably low opening bids will be rejected and bidding parties will be banned from further auctions for one calendar year, starting from the date of the low bid_."

Mary's eyebrows rose as she typed. This was something he had not done before. He always placed a starting bid price. Of course, since he also received a commission on the sale, the more money it sold for, meant the more he got. The higher the sale, the higher the commission, up to a maximum of 30. Anything over 100 million fell into a special bonus category. She didn't know what that was exactly, but it was supposed to be better than _just_ money.

No wonder the bastard was so happy.

She made a quick and dirty mental list of the known income sources he had coming in.

_He was skimming money from her on the main project. He was using her as a resource while running multiple side projects for which she was getting nothing. Now, he had manipulated the opening bid to ensure maximum return. _

_None of the larger bidders will pass up on this drug. No one, specifically the largest 1__st__ world customers will bid low. If the last minor auction went to the CIA for 10 million on an exclusive contract it wouldn't be unreasonable to assume that this major item would fetch a 150 million opening bid on a 1 year contract. This would trigger his maximum commission plus the bonus._ She mentally filed the information away for later examination.

"Done and posted." She smiled as she closed the laptop. "Now I could definitely use that drink, if the offer still stands."

The Doctor laughed loudly. "Well done Mary. And to answer you, yes it does, but before I pour your drink, I have another offer for you." He moved to sit beside her.

"You see Mary, I think I'm going to retire after this. Would you consider the possibility of staying on with me, now that I am independently wealthy?" He placed his hand slightly above her knee and slide it under the hem of her skirt to stroke the inside of her thigh. "I would like to retain some of your _services _in my retirement."

Looking down at his hand then back up to his face, Mary's mouth curled up in a teasing smile as she proceed to spread her legs ever so slightly. "The proposition sounds _absolutely_ enjoyable. Count me in."

Splendid." Pulling his hand back he reached towards the liqueur cabinet. "Let me pour you that drink to celebrate."

With his back towards her, he fails to notice Mary's smile turn to a look of absolute disgust and loathing. With the drink poured, he turns back to give her a glass of wine, not realizing that her smile reappeared when he began to turn towards her.

--

Chuck jogged to room 13 as fast as hospital staff would allow, stumbling into the door in his rush to open it. She appears to be asleep; all traces of spilled blood gone. Looking down at her he feels strange. Almost protective. She looks so fragile and pale; her eyes have the appearance of being sunken into her head with dark circles under them.

He softly calls to her from her bedside. "Sarah?"

She stirs slowly. "Chuck?" Her voice is weak and sleepy from the drugs.

"Hey there. I'm here. I'm right here." He gently takes her hand. She grasps his hand and smiles.

She opens her eyes slowly. It takes a moment for her to focus. When she does, she begins to look alarmed and attempts to sit up. "Chuck, your bleeding..."

Chuck is quick to calm her, using a hand on her chest to hold her down.. "It's ok, it was your blood, not mine. Other than being a little _excited_, I'm fine."

Giving him a sleepy puzzled look she tilted her head and waited for him to explain.

Suddenly quiet and facing down he asked, "I was thinking we could get another birthday cake for when you're better."

Her head is still pretty fuzzy and she doesn't quite understand what he means so she waits patiently for him to continue.

Suddenly looking up and directly into her eyes and with a hint of redness in his cheeks he says, "I was kind of hoping I could watch you eat it." He paused slightly before adding, "In private."

As he finished speaking a large mischievous burst out onto his face.

Finally understanding, she begins to laugh. Unfortunately, her side hurts quite a bit and her half laugh, half yelp, attracts the nurse's attention. Noticing the commotion, the nurse tells Chuck he will have to leave so she can get some rest. Pushing him out the door, she told him he can grab something from the 24 hour cafeteria in the hospital. In the meantime her patient can catch up on some good old fashioned sleep.

As he's forcibly ejected to the room he looked at Sarah with a small smile, "We'll talk later."

He just caught the quiet reply. "Count on it Chuck."

She watched him until he disappeared out the door. She drifted quickly into pleasant if not slightly painful slumber thinking of Chuck, cake and kissing.

Finally arriving at Sarah's room, he is just in time to see Chuck being forcibly ejected from the it the nurse. Chuck's ear to ear grin is an indication that despite the nurse's actions, obviously Sarah is doing better. Matter of fact, if his grin gets any larger he would be asking if he got "lucky".

Turning from the nurse, Chuck starts slightly as he comes face to face with Casey. "Casey! You up for a bite? They kicked me out. Said she needed some rest."

Raising an eyebrow at Chuck's sad looking shirt and bloody clothes he shrugs. "Why not! We'll start the day with some _delicious_ hospital food."

Casey's sarcasm was completely lost on Chuck. "Have you eaten here before? Is it really good? I was under the impression from Ellie and Awesome that hospital food lacks...flavour. Either way, now that I know Sarah's ok, I can relax a bit. I'm supposed to get my bruises looked at, but they aren't bothering me any more than the rest of the aches and pains so it can wait till after we've eaten. I'm actually getting pretty hungry."

Casey gives Chuck an incredulous look. _How the hell can this guy be an agent? Ok, he can give him credit for the nerd stuff, but the rest? It must've been a fluke...or is he really that good? He can hack a computer, escape from an armed facility, drive a rocket car, get an agent to fall for him and yet he's as naive as a doorknob and almost as annoying as Morgan_. Casey looks up at the ceiling._ Why does he always get the shit assignments lately? Only upside was that he liked Chuck. Still couldn't figure out that either._ He grimaced at the puzzle Chuck presents.

"Something wrong Casey?"

"Let's go eat, Bartowski, before I change my mind."

--

Mary slipped her blouse back on and began buttoning it. "I don't want to spoil our fun, but I will have to make a few quick arrangements. Would you be terribly disappointed if I postponed the rest of our celebration until I finish my errands?"

Trying not to look overly disappointed the Doctor merely gave a small smile and nodded.

She took a small sip of wine and asked the driver to drop her wherever he saw a cab.

The driver responded immediately. "There is one behind us miss."

The Doctor watched as she finished buttoning her blouse; she nodded an acknowledgement to the driver and she grabbed the door handle as the car came to a stop. He waited till she was completely out of the car and about to shut the door before he called to her. "Mary?"

Leaning over to stick her head back into the back of the limo, "Hmmm?"

"Forgetting something?" He said as he waved towards the seat where her bra and panties were still laying.

She shrugged. "No. I only wear them at work anyway."

His smirk couldn't get any larger when he pointed at the skirt on the floor of the car by the door. "And that's only for work too?"

She looked over her shoulder and noted that anyone within sight of her was staring. Looking down she noticed that her blouse stopped just short of covering anything on her lower half. She shrugged again. "I suppose it will stop the people from staring." Casually and without a hint of modesty, she bent at the waist, picked up the skirt and stepped into it, being careful not to catch her stilettos on the material. She straightened and zipped it up while standing in the street. "Thanks. I will contact you when I'm ready."

She took a little pleasure in how the Doctor's smirk had turned into an eye bulging look of surprise and lust. He probably would have yanked her back in the limo for another round if he had the chance. _Men were so predictable and people in general are such prudes when it comes to sex and naked bodies. Walk around naked and they think you're an exhibitionist. Have sex with few guys over the course of a day and right away you're a slut. Pfftt. Whatever. _She worked around those labels a long time ago and was more than comfortable with them.

With that she shut the door and flagged the cabbie behind the limo. He was more than happy to give her a lift.

--


	22. Chptr 22 Recovery & Discovery

A/N: Minor language and sexual content warning.

**Chapter 22**

**Recovery & Discovery**

Casey walked quietly down the mostly empty hallways. It was the early AM and 3 hours since Walker came out of surgery. The hospital didn't seem to like people wandering around in the early morning hours, but he had no choice. He needed to talk to Walker.

Approaching her door, he noticed movement at the desk across from her room. Ducking back around the corner he waited at the corner until the resident nurse left her post to do an errand, before he stepped out back out and continued, quickly crossing the hall and entering Sarah's room. He made sure to close the door quietly behind him.

It's the first time he has seen her since she was brought in. If she looked like shit before all covered in blood, she looks like the walking dead now. The only upside is that she is sleeping and should look better later in the morning; after a real shower.

Realizing that he doesn't have a lot of time, he moves to her bedside and prepares to wake her up for a quick Q & A session so that he can report in.

"Walker." He hissed under his breath. He gently shook her shoulder.

She started a little when he shook her shoulder, but calmed quickly even though she actually woke slowly. He kept his hand on her shoulder until she focused her eyes on him and he was confident that she was awake and lucid.

"Walker I need to make a report and I need your input."

Her eyes squint a little. I'm not sure if she is just having trouble focusing or if she's evaluating why I would suddenly need her input. I never did before and she knows that. This time is different, and she knows that too. He waited for her to catch her bearings and think about what he should say. He could see her weighing that last couple of days since their last report to HQ.

It took her a moment to speak. "Casey."

"Yah, Walker."

"If I have no memory of the incident, you will have to report it as you saw it."

_I know what she is saying, but it's not the answer I want._ "Why are you telling me what I already know?"

"Do you...do you..." She couldn't meet his eyes. She looked at the wall to try and regain some of her composure.

_My time is limited. I push her._ "Do I what?"

"Do you think they will let me see Chuck?" The words stumbled out of her mouth as she turned to look back at me. "I mean, could you arrange a way for me to meet with him every so often." Looking away, she quickly added, "After they remove me?"

His rebuke was a little gruffer than he had intended. "You're not getting removed from this team just yet, so you can get that out of your pretty little head."

Her eyes shot back to him. Her face is emotionless but as always, the hope and disbelief is shining in her eyes. "Casey, you can't lie on your report."

_Lady I can do whatever the hell I want. As long as I'm not caught. _He snorted. "Walker, you're in no position to tell me what I can and can't do."

"This isn't like Chuck and I on the stairs."

"You're right, it isn't."

"Then why?"

_I knew what she meant. Technically she was a liability. She had totally snapped and killed a man. Cracking on a mission was grounds for immediate removal and an inactive tag. Followed by a mental evaluation, usually ending in a desk job or, if needed, permanent mental care for the agent. _

He took a deep breath. "As far as I can tell you seem unable to _fix _this. Obviously you couldn't follow my last advice about not becoming involved with people you work with, so I'm going to give you some inside information on what I have a problem with.

_You _need to figure out how to relax and focus on the mission. You haven't been able to do that since you fell for Chuck. The more you hold back the worse it gets.

I don't care what you do, but you need to figure out how to stop holding back so that it doesn't overflow into the missions. Determined and pissed off works, freaked out and crazy doesn't. I don't care if you have to get Chuck to screw it out of you or beat it out; it makes no difference to me.

If you can't do that, then we'll talk about re-assignment to a desk. Leaving the team entirely isn't an option. The way I see it you would both crack."

He felt a strange brush of satisfaction as he caught her by surprise, leaving her with wide eyes and open mouth.

Catching herself with her mouth hanging open, it snapped shut with an audible click.

Her impulse was to pretend like he hadn't even spoken about her relationship with Chuck. Her reaction was somewhat defensive and petulant. "We still got him out and I kicked ass." Obviously referring to Chuck's recent rescue.

_Avoidance and denial. Like she hasn't done that before. _He rolled his eyes. "Do I have to lay it out for you Walker? _Everyone _can see how you two feel about each other, and I don't mean in your cover relationship. Hell, it wasn't until the last couple of days that you even talked about any of it with him. Now you two look like your trying to make up for lost time and freaking out. Chuck is sacrificing himself for you, while you crack at the seams. Seems to me you either stabilize your progress with Chuck to the point you can both deal with it or someone is going to end up dead."

He is definitely getting through to her as he watches her facial expressions change and shift as she processes what he is telling her. He watched her eyes drift out of focus as if remembering something. That's when she spoke. He's not sure if her talking will be positive or not but he listens. Besides, listening appears to be the safer route right now.

"What the hell happened Casey?" Her tone is completely different than seconds early; slightly lost and listless with hint of fear underscoring it.

_So much for listening_. "Dunno. Thought it was the overall situation aggravated by your monthly cycle." Not one to sugar coat things he can't help but be honest. Besides lying to her will just make it worse.

Her eyes snap back into focus on his face and the look is nothing if not disbelieving and her tone matches it. "You're saying it's PMS!?"

"I'm saying that's part of it. The bigger factor is definitely from not getting any good old fashioned _stress relief_. Neither is Bartowski. Throw in a little PMS and some dangerous situations and voila. One half baked Walker and a slightly crazy Bartowski."

He had doubts about working with a normal crazy agent, let alone a love crazed, over stressed, PMS'ing agent Walker. When it's all said and done, he had come to the foregone conclusion she really needed to get Chuck into bed. He was all for killing bad guys, but her current method of stress relief was just a little too stressful for him.

Her mouth tightened in a fine line. She had made a decision. "I'll talk to Chuck."

He palmed his head in exasperation. "Walker, I said _stress relief_, not more tension. It starts with "F" and rhymes with Chuck."

"Since when do you get off dictating my sex life!"

"I'm not." He growled. "I'm just telling you how to _fix _things so you can stay on the team. Apparently I need to keep repeating it. Multiple times! Maybe draw you some pictures, because you seem a little f'n thick on the topic."

He didn't wait for a response this time. "Now lay down and get some rest." He ordered. "You're going to _need it. _I'm going to report to HQ." He stormed out without looking back. If she replied, he didn't hear it.

Walking down the hall to the impromptu mission room, he's not sure how getting facts straight for a mission briefing turned him giving a lecture on relationships but he hopes he can avoid the birds and bees talk with Bartowski.He snorted. He has a sinking feeling that avoiding the topic with Bartowski is unlikely, unless of course, he doesn't live past today.

He had purposely left Bartowski's current condition off the list of topics to discuss with Walker. She needed rest and he needed to file the report. Fortunately she was too distracted to ask about him. Besides, things could look up in a few hours. God help him if they don't. He wasn't in any condition to handle a replay of Crazy Walker.

--

Feeling well rested from the nap and clean from her relaxing bath, Mary sat down to look over the data she had smuggled out of the facility. The Office was very thorough in their test candidates. Accountability was high on the list. They had taken the usual tests when they pulled them in.

In this case, blood work, MRI, etc.; all of it looked normal. No illness, genetic defects or diseases were found on any of them. Even the STD tests were negative. Only one candidate had been scheduled for intercourse but situations can change quickly and as a precaution everyone is tested. Of course, in the last mission, no candidates had intercourse, as Chuck had maneuvered his way out of that.

For all the tests the Office did, there was only one thing they didn't test for. It just wasn't something they needed to know. Unfortunately she needed to know for sure. Without it, she wouldn't be able to calculate the statistical probability accurately enough. There was only one recourse; if she wanted that information she would have to get it herself.

A predatory smile slowly worked itself onto her face. She would have to time it just right.

Looking back at the screen she had up all the hospital data. The name was different, but it was obviously being covered by one of the agencies. Either way she would recognize him on sight.

Slipping out of her chair, she walked across the vault to the storage cabinet labeled Restricted. Opening the door, she scanned the vials until she found the ones she wanted. Packing them and a couple of syringes into a little medical kit with a few other supplies and she was ready to go. The vault automatically closed and locked after she exited it. She made sure to grab the clothes she had set aside earlier and would need at the hospital. Closing the door, she headed for the bus stop. Cabs were out of the question, it was too easy to trace.

--

She woke up feeling much better than she had in the early morning hours when Casey had stopped by. By the light shining in the room, she could tell it was already late morning. She was surprised at how quickly she had fallen asleep after talking...she corrected herself...after listening to Casey lecture her on relationships affecting the team.

She was about to use the washroom when the nurse came in.

"Ready for some food?"

Her stomach answered for her by growling a response. The nurse raised her eyebrows. "I'll get a tray for you."

Sarah tried not to blush as she nodded and pulled the covers back to get out of bed.

Catching Sarah's movement out of the corner of her eye, the nurse knew by experience where Sarah wanted to go and did a quick U-Turn to come back and put down the rail and help with the IV stand. "I'd put you in a wheel chair but it's only a few steps and it's just easier on you to walk there and back."

Sarah took a tentative step and when she didn't collapse the nurse eased up on her hold and gently supported and guided her to the bathroom.

After she was back in bed the nurse brought in food and gave her the remote, inclining her bed to allow easier eating and to watch TV. "Just push the stand away when you're done, dear. I'll be at my station if you need me. Here's the call button." She placed the button on the bed and turned to leave.

Sarah knew this would be the best time to ask. "Did...Did anyone come to see me?" Her voice sounded sad, even to herself. She knew why she felt down. She had expected Chuck to be here when she woke up. Or at least Casey. Maybe even Ellie. She knew that she was being a little unreasonable, but for once she just wanted some friends to be there for her.

"There was a stern looking man here a couple of hours ago. He said he would be back later to check on your _status_. His word, not mine. Sounded a little too formal for me." The nurse took one look at her face and asked, "Was there someone in particular you were waiting for honey?"

Sarah had been thinking about Chuck when the lady had asked. _They really can see how I feel when I think about_ _Chuck._ It bothered her a little bit to think that Casey was right.

"I was hoping my boyfriend would be here. About 6', kind of lanky, wavy brown hair, goofy attitude and a big smile."

The nurse smiled at Sarah's description, but shook her head no. "Sorry honey. I just came on shift this morning and no one other than the stern fellow has come by. Maybe he had to work today? Either way, I'll keep an eye out for someone meeting that description."

The nurse left the room and Sarah sighed and grabbed the remote. At least the TV never failed her.

Channels are flipping by until she lands on the news in mid broadcast. The news announcer is speaking, "...refinery explosion appears to be accidental.

(Video feed shows the facility Chuck, Sarah and Casey were held in.) Sarah turns up the volume and listens intently.

Initial reports indicate that the refinery has a massive electrical failure. The blaze was started when a faulty electrical backup sparked and ignited some flammable materials contained there. The site had been deserted due to company cutback's a few years ago. The facility was completely destroyed. Firefighters on site believe they have the fires under control and expect them to be out later tonight. No injuries were reported.

In other news, police and fire were certainly kept busy with reports of joy-riders racing through the city at extreme speeds and explosions at a local mall just minutes from the refinery. The Police have ruled out any possible connection between the joy-riders and the refinery and mall explosions. At this time there have are no leads in the massive mall destruction that took place a yesterday.

(Video feed from a helicopter circling a large mall with two large smoking holes in its exterior walls. The first hole is in a direct line with the second.)

"It is still a mystery why anyone would attack the mall, and it was fortunate that the majority of the security and cleaning personnel where in other parts of the mall when the explosions occurred. In a most fortunate turn of events one of the guards had just walked away from the area where the 2nd explosion occurred. A moment earlier and we would likely have had a tragedy on our hands.

The police were hoping that the security cameras had recorded the events, but the cameras had apparently stopped working just prior the explosions. It is unclear how or why the cameras stopped working, but since it occurred shortly after the storage refinery explosion, there is speculation that the power distribution lines received an electrical surge or spike that forced the computer system and cameras to shut down.

And in other news..." Sarah turned off the TV, her mind working a mile a minute.

The mall they were showing was a short distance away from here. The damage appeared to have happened about the time she would've been admitted with Casey by Chuck. She didn't like where her brain was taking her. She needed to know what was going on. She would make a point of it, as soon as she saw Casey or Chuck. Of course the last time she saw Chuck was very early this morning. Guesstimates put that at around midnight or shortly after.

She hadn't seen Casey since the early morning hours; maybe 4 – 5 am. Enough time to tell her he wasn't going to rat her out to HQ, while he lectured her on her sex life and relationship with Chuck.

She had to say that that was one of the most uncomfortable moments in her professional career. Lectured on a relationship she was having with an asset by a burnt out NSA agent that was considered so unemotional, he was referred to as a robot and a cold-school killer. In retrospect, what did that say about _her_? She preferred not to think about that.

Looking at the clock, she didn't know whether to be worried or angry or both. It almost noon. Casey should have been back to check on her. Chuck should have been here because...well because he just should have been. Especially after his cake comments from last night. The more she thought about the cake, the more she thought about Chuck and what Casey said. She definitely wanted more. More Chuck, not cake. She laughed to herself. Maybe more sleep was in order first.

Cake aside, something was up. She thinking about how she was going to hijack the empty wheelchair outside of her room when she saw Casey open the door.

Casey looked tired. He had bags under his bloodshot eyes. Obviously he had not slept. Sarah didn't care.

Casey knew Walker would be getting antsy. He was glad that he got there when he did, she looked ready to go for a 'walk-about'. Looking at her face he knew what was coming. He mentally sighed. He had faced worse. Matter of fact, a lot worse, and more recently than he wanted. He made sure to close the door quickly.

Sarah laid into him the moment he closed her door. Feeling much better, voice wise, she began with a slightly subdued yell. "Casey, what the hell is going on?

She dropped her voice to an angry whisper. Why are there no agents in the hospital? Why haven't you told me what happened last night? And where is Chuck?. When I saw him last, I got the distinct impression that he would be spending the night here at the hospital with..." Her voice trailed slightly as she realized what she was saying.

A shadow of sadness slipped across Casey's eyes, before returning to the dull stare of exhaustion.

"You want details or the abridged version?"

In as restrained a voice as she could handle, "I'll take the abridged. You can add details later."

He spoke quietly and quickly making his words as brief as possible. He knew she would want to move quickly when he finished.

"The suburban explosion at the facility stuck shrapnel in you. I was hurt too, although not as bad. Chuck stuffed us in the Herder and was able to use the Herder and its extra _features_ to get you here before you had time to bleed to death."

As he spoke, Sarah's face displayed what could only be called disbelief.

"Didn't he draw attention racing around in the Herder? What about the police?"

"He did and we lost them."

"Lost...them? The Police?"

"No, the tooth fairy. Of course, the Police."

Sarah recovered quickly from her surprise. A sudden suspicion was nagging her. "Was the mall I saw in the news involved?"

"Only the parts Chuck blew up. He launched missiles into it so we could drive through."

Sarah's eyes enlarged, while her mouth dropped open as her brain struggled to understand what he just said. "...missles..._drove _ through..?"

"Didn't I just cover that? Do we need to turn down your drugs, or did the explosion affect your hearing too?"

"Turn down the drugs? Casey, I'm having a hard time believing I'm awake!"

"Walker, you've had more sleep than me and Chuck combined. Believe me when I say your awake. Crappy looking, but awake."

Sarah is unfazed by his banter, "Chuck...How...He doesn't-".

Casey cut her off with a little more feeling. Kind of like the old Casey she knows. "You want me to finish or would you prefer to read about it in the report?"

Gritting her teeth, "Continue".

Chuck was checking up on me when he got word you were out of surgery. He came to see you. That was just after midnight.

"I remember that", she said with a smile. "They chased him out of the room. The nurses told him to go to the cafeteria, if I remember correctly."

"I met him just outside your room and we went down for a bite." Casey pauses here and moves to the chair by Sarah's bed. He knows she is getting anxious, but he is pretty drained from the agent work, staying up all night, then the turmoil of almost losing a partner and...He glances back up at Sarah. He can tell she is getting mad. Sometimes this job sucks and sometimes is sucks even more. This is an even more time.

Sarah spits out a frustrated "WELL? So where's Chuck?" Did someone take him? Tell me or at least give me a hand to get there."

Casey speaks in a tired voice. "Sarah, No one took him. He never made it past the soup. He collapsed in the cafeteria."

Sarah face dropped. What do you mean collapsed?" Fear crept into her. "Casey is he...is he."

Casey is quick to respond..."No!" In a smaller voice repeating it. "No. At least not yet."

"What hell does that mean? Where is he? You know what, forget it, I'll find him myself!" She struggled to kick off her blankets.

Speaking slowly and clearly, "Sarah, he is in critical care. They can't find out what's wrong with him. But whatever it is, it's causing intense pain. The doctors have not been unable to isolate the reason, nor are they able to circumvent the pain with any of the painkillers available. Whatever is affecting him has an interesting side effect of keeping him awake, even when a normal person would be passing out from the pain. I'm assuming it was given to him at the facility."

It takes a moment for Sarah to process the information, before she is asking more. "Did you talk to HQ? Have they sent anyone to assist?"

Casey continues, maintaining a deliberately slow and steady pace of information. "The hospital has taken blood work and is collaborating with some of the CIA doctors. The civilian doctors have been told only that they are government 'bio hazard specialists' on loan to assist and determine if this is an isolated situation or some kind of accidental hazard."

Sarah is blunt and to the point with her questioning, "Where are the guards?"

"This is a civilian hospital. There are no other agents in the building. We are trying to keep this quiet and not draw more attention here. Especially considering the sensitive nature of the Intersect and Chucks condition."

"I want to see him. Now!"

Casey's voice become stern. "After I'm done briefing you."

He continues. "There have been other complications to his condition."

Sarah had already started sliding off the bed when she stopped at his words. "You mean there is more?"

Seeing that he will be unable to stop Walker from demanding to see Chuck, he moves back to the door and turns to Sarah, "Wait one."

Giving Casey the benefit of the doubt, she waits. Casey returned immediately with the wheel chair from outside the room. He continues where he left off, helping her into the chair as he talks.

About all the doctors have been able to determine is that the something is stimulating the part of the brain that controls his pain center. Unfortunately, we can't exactly ask Chuck what happened to him at the facility".

"Why not? Is he unconscious?"

"Not exactly. He had some problems with his left side when he came into the hospital, but he was the only person walking so they roped him into filling out paperwork for our admittance. One of the cleanup agents recognized him as being inexperienced from a previous mission we were on. She took pity on him and filled the forms out.

Apparently between checking on me and you, he had had planned on getting a more thorough check-up after he had a bite to eat. He never made it that far."

He paused to press the button for the automatic double doors leading into the next section of the hospital.

"I don't understand. How does his side factor into all this?"

"We figure he had some fractured ribs."

Sarah's ears perked up at the past tense and her voice was a little sharper than she intended. "What do you mean by had? Did they suddenly fix themselves?"

With the doors open, he continued pushing her towards Chucks room.

"Not exactly. It appears that he didn't know the ribs were broken. He probably thought they were bruised. He carried you into and out of the car. He damn near carried me into it. We drove at high speeds, taking corners and, if necessary, over and through several obstacles. None of it was what I would label as a smooth ride. Fast yes, smooth no. He was restrained by his seat belt. The damaged ribs were contacting the belt. It aggravated the damage to the point that he has enough bruising to make it look like he was dragging himself behind the Herder."

"Casey, how the hell would he not know he had broken ribs? That must have hurt like hell."

"I don't know. Then again I'm of the opinion he was so freaking insane that he noticed nothing."

She looked over his shoulder with what can only be described as a "What the hell?" look.

He noticed it. "Hey you weren't awake for the "B.I.R.T.H.".

Her raised eyebrows were a silent indicator that she wanted more information.

"You know, B.I.R.T.H., Bartowski's Insane Ride To Hell." He could see she still wasn't buying it, but she did have a little smile.

"On the flip side, the doctors think that it's related to whatever he was injected with."

He stopped at the elevator and pushed the down button. He waited for her to put it together before he continued.

"Injected! When was he inject... oh."

"They haven't found what is causing the reaction but they did find more than one needle mark in his left arm. You know how Chuck is with needles. It's pretty obvious someone did it to him."

He pushed her into the elevator and pulled an access card out, swiping it through the card slot underneath the buttons before pushing the bottom most button labeled Restricted Access.

"There has got to be something to help with the pain."

Casey sighed. "I told you they already tried. Whatever it is it neutralizes the pain killers immediately while acting as a super stimulant. The victim is unable to sleep or pass out. Sleep assist drugs are neutralized the same as the pain killers. In speaking with _our_ doctors, we believe that it was administered at the facility to ensure his cooperation in providing information."

He heard her sharp intake of breath.

"Do you think he gave anything up."

"I have no idea, but seeing how he reacted to the stuff, I can't see him not spilling his guts."

"Casey, I _need_ to see him. I can't believe Chuck would give up information and not even mention it. It is not like him. There has to be another explanation."

The elevator dinged and he continued his pushing when the doors opened. The first thing Sarah saw was the large words printed in on the wall "Biohazard – Restricted Access" and underneath "Authorized Personnel ONLY".

"Casey, how long has Chuck been down here?

"Several hours. At first it was because they couldn't isolate the cause. More recently it was the screaming."

"After the cell phone _incident _I felt it would be better if I got you after he stopped screaming." He didn't bother to volunteer the fact that he had no indication he would ever stop screaming. Fortunately he had stopped.

At his admission, an almost imperceptible noise is heard from Sarah. Casey saw her raise her hand to her mouth noting that her shoulders are trembling ever so slightly. He understood. They may think he is a cold blooded killer, but he is not without feelings.

"We're here." He stopping outside the door.

Leaning down to her ear he spoke in a conspiratorial whisper. "And Walker; if its ever life or death for me, tell Chuck he's the little brother I never had and let him drive." He placed his hand on her shoulder and gave it a small squeeze.

A strangled noise, part laugh, part sob escapes her as she glances over her shoulder with her wet bloodshot eyes and a small smile.


	23. Chptr 23 Pain Relief

**A/N: WARNING: Sexual Content, minor language. **

**Chapter 23**

**Pain Relief**

She smiled as she reviewed quick assessment again. From a purely professional standpoint, the situation is a mess.

A busy civilian hospital, minimal security and both cover agents are partially disabled. They can't send replacements as new faces may raise questions that no one wants to answer. They can't provide any needed backup as it could compromise the cover by highlighting something they are hiding.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out it was a "can't see what's in front of your face" scenario. It's a buckle down, and hope for the best situation based on the assumption no one would even consider looking someplace so obvious.

Well, their problems are her benefits. The only open ended variable was the partially disabled agents covering him.

There was still no intel on why he was so important, but it didn't really matter anyway. It's not like she was going to kidnap or kill him. She was just going to take samples. She wanted an hour to get it done, but small window of about 20 minutes _would do _if she becomes pressed for time_. _She was just going to have to play this one by ear.

She took a last minute mental survey of her gear and the game plan.

She had the room location and number of hospital staff tending him; both of which extracted easily from one of the nurse station computers. The security system was taken care of upon arrival, shunting the necessary video feeds to her handheld. A press of the button was all she needed to transfer to the feeds to recorded loops for the staff, while she gets real time footage. All of it was technological child's play.

Confirming his current coma like status in the hospital database, it was obvious he was riding out the compounds effects in the same fashion he did while undergoing the Doctor's earlier testing. This would work to her advantage.

The best course of action was to circumvent the last of the compound's effects by activating one of Chuck's innate resistances. He would slip out of his coma like state and directly under the affect of her vault drugs; enhancing his reactions while placing him in a submissive and slightly hallucinogenic frame of mind. That's where the other items she had brought would help keep him in line. She had little doubt as to what fantasy his mind would create while under the influence. The vault drugs are very short lived and would put him to sleep. By the time he recovers, she would have her samples, and he would be over the Doctor's compound.

One last look around her immediate surroundings and she declared herself good to go.

--

She had climbed out of the wheelchair to sit on the side of his bed. Grasping his hand in hers, she shocked at how cold and lifeless it felt. She was so used to seeing his large smile and feeling the warmth of his body radiate out from him just by standing close to him. Now he did nothing but lay cold and still in the sterile room, surrounded by various medical equipment. Despite the situation she was extremely glad that the slow beep of the heart monitor broke the silence at consistent intervals.

Chucks eyes were open. She saw him blink, but there was no life behind the eyes. While he appeared comatose, one of the nearby machines was clearly reading significant brain activity.

"Is he in a coma?" She asked Casey, her voice full of concern.

"The Doctors aren't quite sure. His brain activity and other body functions don't seem to match the expected norm for coma victims. They think it's more of a self induced meditation. At this point in time, they feel it's probably for the best, as he can't feel any pain and it gives them more time to figure out how to save him."

She nodded, clearly not in the mood to discuss more. Instead she stood and moved closer to his head, putting her hands on either side of his face. She leaned towards him until she was nose to nose, starting into his eyes. In a barely legible whisper, she spoke, "Chuck. Don't leave. I couldn't take it if you didn't come back." With that she kissed his lips ever so gently.

His breathing pattern alterted slightly and she thought she saw the briefest movement in his eyes, then nothing. Leaning on the bed she grasped his hand and stroked his arm, while she stared at his face. Content to watch and wait.

--

Mary sighed. She put the handheld down. She had watched as both agents entered his room. It had been several minutes and they had not come back out. Well, she was not one to sit around and wait for things to happen.

She repositioned the handheld in front of her and used it to tap into the hospital scheduling system via their new wireless network. Time for some tests she thought, grinning to herself.

--

Neither agent had moved. Both seemed quite comfortable where they were. Sarah sat on Chuck's bed holding his hand and stroking his arm, while Casey sat just inside the door watching her watch him.

He heard someone in the hallway coming towards the room. He stood and stepped to the side of the door, one hand on his gun, watching as it opened. He relaxed when he saw the nurse followed by two doctors.

One of the doctors spoke. "Miss Walker, Mr. Casey?"

Both agents turned to face the speaker and addressed him in unison, "Yes?"

It's my understanding you were both involved or at least near the facility that exploded last night. Is that correct?

Casey and Sarah gave each other a knowing glance. Casey responded, as he was the only one aware of their cover story. "That's correct."

"What's this about? Sarah asked.

The second doctor addressed them. "We just received word that the facility itself may have unintentionally housed a carcinogen. Likely from inadequate or faulty storage since it was closed down a few years ago. It is possible that you three may have been exposed to it and we need to run a few tests."

Casey and Sarah look slightly alarmed.

Noting their looks of alarm, he is quick to respond. "Not to worry. The tests are fairly minor in nature and if you have been exposed, treatment is quite painless and 100 effective. The goal is to catch it before it affects you.

Casey gave Sarah a nod. "When do you want us for this testing?"

The nurse stepped forward. "I can take you now. It will take about an hour to complete."

Casey was the first out the door muttering. "Let's get this over with."

Sarah was a bit more hesitant, looking back at Chuck.

The first doctor understood her concern. "Miss, he will be fine. He won't even have to leave the room, as we have someone coming in to test him."

When she still didn't move he spoke again. "We will have a security guard posted outside, Miss. Not to worry, staff is monitored closely on this floor and you saw the method of access required to reach this level. We take biohazards very seriously."

Still not entirely convinced, she relented. After all, who would be after him down here? Surely not Fulcrum. Gently stroking his face she leaned forward and said, "I'll be back before you know it." A quick peck on the check and she sat in her wheelchair, waiting for the nurse to take her out.

--

Mary smirked at the surveillance feed. Too easy.

She stopped at the nurses' station to check in and collect the equipment for the _tests_. She waited while the nurse's confirmed her status in the computer.

Little did they realize she had already hacked them earlier. She had already loaded a profile and with all the needed permissions. Once verified, they gave her a special pass for security to look at. She simply had to show it at the door to his room. Again, too easy.

Arriving at the door, she smiled brightly to the security guard and proceeded to explain that due to the tests she needed to perform and the sensitive nature of the patient, she would be locking the door for the duration. No more than one hour. He simply nodded and grinned as he watched her breasts while she spoke.

She dropped her grin once inside the locked room. Sometimes men were such pigs.

Pulling a syringe and one of the vials from her bag she walked over to the IV, using the injection point to empty the now filled syringe into the bag. The compound would only take about 5 minutes to take effect.

Looking down at Chuck she noted that he was in the same state he had been at the compound. Almost in a coma, although this time he wasn't suffering quite as bad. Checking her watch, she noted that the first dose of the Doctors compound would have worn off by now. That would explain the reduction in symptoms. The other two he was given should be nearing the end of their cycle as well.

She wondered if he would realize that she was doing him a favour. On the other side of the coin, she was aware that his girlfriend might see it the same way. After all, Chuck had proven to be an excellent candidate for resistance through intimacy.

She had counted on that, as it would greatly ease her sample collection. As his resistance kicked in, it would allow the enhancement drug she had administered, to put him into a dreamlike sleep. Well, not all of him will be sleeping.

She pulled the blond wig from her bag and shifted it into place. The transition between resistance and sleep might have slightly wakeful sections. Best not to take chances. A couple of quick strategic sprays of perfume and she was ready.

Looking at Chuck, she couldn't help but notice that with the drug's help, so was he.

--

Sarah was more than a little anxious to get back to check on Chuck. The tests were actually quite minor, but the waiting between them was excruciatingly boring. Two minutes of tests and 51 minutes of waiting. She snorted. She spent the whole time watching the clock. Maybe it was the fidgeting, but over the last hour she had felt much better. Definitely not 100, but well enough to walk without the wheelchair. The nurse was having none of that. "Wheelchair use or bed." She had said. There was no in between.

At the end of the tests she told the nurse she would get back to Chuck's room under her own power and proceeded to do just that. Moments later she was motoring down hallways, at what could only be considered, unsafe speeds. Rounding the last corner, in what could be termed a power slide, she looked up to see a nurse pushing a cart out of Chuck's room and speaking to the guard. _She must've just finished the tests on Chu-. _

He mind froze for a moment while the wheelchair continued coasting silently towards them. The brunette was exceptionally beautiful. Enough so that she felt an instant pang of jealousy. The woman was everything she was, but just that little bit more that made her self-conscious. She was especially aware of her current condition; no makeup, recovering from an injury, in a wheelchair, hair and nails not done and not to mention, wearing a hospital gown.

The woman's gaze flickered over to her then back to the guard. She was very polite to him. He just grunted responses. As she wheeled up the nurse smiled while turning her back slightly to the guard. The Nurse scanned her up and down with a strange evaluating look, while she waited till Sarah pulled up directly in front of her before she nodded and greeted her. "Hello."

In the meantime, the guard had tried to casually move around her to face her again. The nurse was just as casually keeping her back to him. The nurse shared a look with her, glancing first towards the guard then back to her, rolling her eyes. Sarah instinctively knew exactly what she meant. The guard spent the whole time looking at the woman's breasts while she spoke. The moment she turned around he was looking at her butt. She could feel for the woman. She herself, had been in many situations like that. She felt a brief moment of camaraderie with the pretty nurse.

"Miss Walker?", the nurse asked, startling her out of her reverie.

"Yes-" Suddenly alarmed on how she knew her name, she paused to look at the nurse's name tag. "-Mary."

Noticing Sarah's facial expression she quickly replied. "It's ok, dear. I was present when we divvied up who got to test whom." She gave her most endearing smile before speaking again.

"I'm all done with your boyfriend for now. The testing went well and he seems to have stabilized and is sleeping."

Her words are polite, and the fact that Chuck is sleeping is wonderful news but the smile had been replaced by an odd smirk that Sarah found disturbing. And how did she know Chuck was her boyfriend?

"You should probably go see him. I'm sure he's_ waiting _for you." Mary placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder as she spoke, then excused herself to take the test cart away.

Sarah caught a whiff of perfume as she walked away. It was very familiar but she put it out of her mind as she struggled with the odd comments Mary had made.

Unlike Mary's exit, when the guard was all over her in an attempt to be polite and helpful; Sarah had to ask to get him to open the door for her. His look of absolute annoyance was almost enough to make her get out of her chair to kick his lazy ass.

Entering the room, the first thing that struck her was the smell. The vague perfume smell wafting off of Mary outside the room was nothing compared to the over powering strength of it inside the room. She also recognized it. Mary was wearing the same perfume she usually wore. _Chanel No. 5 – Coco,e.d.p_.. Chuck loved the scent. He had said it was reminiscent of a clean baby power scent. She thought it was ok, but it did make Chuck a lot more _hands-on_ when she wore it. He would start standing extra close and would lean in to _smell her _little while_. _Yah, it was weird but she found herself walking home with 4 extra bottles of it the very next day. She wore it all the time now. Well, except in here.

As she wheeled closer she could see a gentle smile on his face. He looked very much at ease while he slept. Mary had been right.

Having moved her wheel chair close to enough to his bed, she rose to hold his hand. That's when she saw it. She felt pretty confident in assuming that Mary had seen it too, and that's why she had been acting so strange. The thin hospital robe and near sheer hospital sheets were doing little to hide Chuck's erection. She felt her skin flush as she looked away, her heart racing.

Realizing no one else was in the room and watching, she looked at Chuck's face. He was sleeping quietly. Slowly she reached out her hand until it was hovering over it. A mischievous smile slowly appeared on her face as she gently rested her first two fingers on the top of it. The reaction was instant.

She could feel it jump slightly in response and heard Chuck inhale slightly in his sleep. She froze, her head snapping to look at his face. His eyes were still closed but his mouth now formed a small 'o'.

Looking back at her hand, she slowly began to glide her fingers lightly along it towards the base. She could feel it throb under her touch. As she neared the base, she heard it.

In between breaths Chuck had groaned her name; in his sleep, no less! It was the most erotic thing she had heard from him. She broke into a wide grin, her hand frozen where she had left it, at the base of his perfectly sized-"

"_**Walker!"**_ Casey hissed.

She instinctively jumped and spun to face the door where Casey stood. In her weakened condition, she ended up stumbling upon landing and promptly fell over her wheelchair. The noise didn't wake Chuck so she stayed where she was, laying on the floor even when Casey's face came into view. "Christ, Walker, he isn't even awake!." He growled. "I didn't expect you to start stress relief lessons, _right now! _Couldn't you wait till you got home?! And what the hell is that smell? Incense? Perfume? Felt you needed to set the mood?"

Her face red as a lobster, she didn't bother explaining. She just stayed on the floor. "_Is there a reason you're in here_?" She replied icily.

"Yah. Ellie's here. We need to move him to something less intimidating."

"I thought she would have been here earlier." _Like when I woke up._ When he didn't respond, she had a sneaking suspicion why he was in a hurry.

"Casey...you did you call her last night, right?"

He said nothing. She sighed. Ellie's arrival was a bigger problem than it should have been. Nobody had phoned his sister to tell her Chuck was hurt. "Crap." She struggled to rise.

"Hold still Walker", he said as he bent down and picked her up to place her in the wheel chair.

A couple of orderlies had come to move Chuck, but not before Casey had grabbed a couple of extra blankets off of one of the shelves to rumple and toss on Chuck's lower half. "Only with Bartowski", he grumbled.

Sarah heard and smiled.

Grabbing her chair, he began pushing her to Chuck's new room. After a moment of silence he spoke. "Walker."

"Yes Casey."

"Next time put a tie or bell on the door. I don't need to see that."

She wasn't sure what to say to that, so she said nothing. She did make a mental note that a bell would be a better indicator of an intruder.

Just in case, of course.


	24. Chptr 24 Passing the Torch

_A/N: I just wanted to thank Gatorfan13 and Sharpasamarble for comments and editing help. The first couple of drafts of this were written months ago and I had to really butcher it to fit. I wasn't happy with the results and ended up drafting help. Thanks again.  
_

**Chapter 24 **

**Passing the Torch**

The orderlies had just left the room after moving the bed, when the doctor came in to check on Chuck. "I received word from the nurse that he had stabilized and was sleeping" he said.

Sarah was sitting in her wheelchair off to the side, while the Doctor looked over Chuck's chart. Casey stood statuesque in the corner, as far from the bed and doctor as possible.

The door to the room opened again and Sarah and Casey watched as a nurse walked into the room and spoke to the doctor. "A Dr. Bartowski just called the nurses' station and gave us an earful. Apparently she is on her way to inspect the patient."

The Doctor finished with Chuck's clipboard and placed it back on the hook at the end of the bed. A bemused expression on his face, "Dr. Bartowski isn't a resident doctor here, so I take it the last name is not a coincidence?"

The nurse nodded. "His sister; and I don't think she really cares where her residency is."

The doctor looked at the three patients packed into the one room. Ignoring the smile on the sleeping patient, it took little effort to see the worried looks on the blond and her stern looking companion. He smiled. "Our work here is finished for now. Why don't we get out of the way and let Ms. Bartowski visit with her family and friends. From the looks of things, I'm sure they have a lot of catching up to do."

As he left the room with the nurse, he could see a stunning brunette walking towards the room. She did not look happy. He gently steered the nurse in the opposite direction, ignoring the incoming woman.

Ellie walked in, a terse smile fixed to her face. Casey and Sarah were waiting for her and shared a knowing, if not slightly apprehensive look when she entered the room.

She surveyed the surroundings with the eyes of professional medical practitioner. Ellie said nothing; instead walking directly to grab Chuck's chart and proceeded to flip through it, pausing to read pieces every so often. Chuck was sleeping lightly in the hospital bed with a small smile on his face.

Sarah and Casey shared a worried glance. He raised his eyebrows and her mouth formed a grim line in response. He was going to let her break the ice. She was the girlfriend, after all.

"Ellie?" she quietly called.

She was rewarded with a quick look from Ellie from slightly squinted eyes. She said nothing, but she did put the clipboard back on its hook.

The tension in the room had become palpable. Ellie was definitely not her usual self. Sarah watched as Ellie ignored her and Casey and walked to Chuck's bedside; gently touching his shoulder, she called to him. "Chuck?"

"Hmmm...whazzat?" He mumbled.

Casey had taken a couple of steps forward and Sarah had rolled slightly closer, calling again. "Ellie, are you ok?"

She kept ignoring them both, focusing on Chuck instead. "Chuck? It's Ellie."

His eyes opened slowly; a relaxed look on his face. "Hey sis. Glad you came."

"So am I Chuck. I hadn't heard from you in days and I was worried something had happened to you. Apparently I was right. Chuck, how did you end up here?"

Chuck became confused and tense. He didn't answer her but instead chose to scan the room, his face creased with worry but relaxing immediately when he saw Sarah.

The changes in expression were not lost on Ellie as she had followed his gaze while waiting for a response. Just as she turned back to him he spoke.

His voice was soft but clear. "I don't quite remember" he said, but his eyes looked down and away from his sister when he spoke.

Sarah saw Chuck was floundering and took the gap in conversation as a time to step in and cover for him. "Ellie, Chuck can't help it; he's been out of it for several hours. I can fill you in." Sarah rolled the wheel chair next to the bed and began.

"Chuck and I had decided to be spontaneous and left on a last minute trip to spend a few days away from the city. Casey overheard Chuck talk to me on the phone and he let us swap his suburban and some camping gear for the nerd herd car Chuck uses. Chuck had already cleared the Herder's use with Big Mike for a few days, so we figured it would be ok. Casey had the next few days off too, so no one would be the wiser that we had swapped vehicles.

Everything was going pretty good the first couple of days, but we had to come in for a few _feminine_ products that I forgot to pack in our haste. On our way back out, we had some vehicle problems.

We called Casey and he came over in the Herder to check it out. Shortly after he got there, Chuck noticed a fire in nearby buildings. We felt that we should at least see if anyone needed help. While we didn't find anyone, one thing led to another, the fire got bigger and there was an explosion.

I guess I was hurt pretty bad by a small piece of shrapnel. Chuck, was the only one that seemed to be more or less unhurt, so he stuffed Casey and I in the Herder and brought us here. Sometime after we got here, Chuck collapsed. Apparently he wasn't without problems from the explosion either. It seems he had inhaled something at the site and it took some time to work itself out of his system. They just cleared him a little while ago.

Ellie stared at her, her lips tightly kept together. When Sarah was done explaining, Ellie turned to Casey. "John, how about you? Is that how you remember it?"

His eyebrows pulled together as he tried to ascertain what Ellie was getting at. "Yah. That's it."

Sarah looked surprised and hurt. Ellie was asking for confirmation of what she had told her. As if she didn't trust her. This was not good.

Chuck had listened while Sarah had told Ellie what happened. As far as cover stories go, he was fairly surprised at how well she had given a fairly accurate list of the events, while keeping the bad stuff out. He was just as surprised as Sarah when Ellie asked for confirmation, from Casey, of all people.

Uncomfortable with the direction of the conversation he tried to diffuse the tension in the room. "Ellie, where's Devon?"

She shrugged. "He just got off a double shift after covering for someone. I told him I was a big enough girl to come alone. The last thing I needed was him to fall asleep at the wheel and have _another_ loved one in the hospital."

The last part of her reply was slightly snappish but no one commented on it.

Her eyes shifted from Chuck to Casey. He was still standing in the corner, her practiced eye noting the slight lean to ease pressure on the other leg and the dark circles under his eyes.

"John. How are you doing? Have they checked you in yet?"

Casey was caught a little off guard by the direct talk, but was somewhat used to Ellie including him as part of their extended family. "They got me booked in last night. My room is just down the hall. Nothing I can't handle. Doc said I just need some rest."

Ellie turned back to Casey. "Well John, since you're supposed to be getting some bed rest maybe we should just get you off to your room."

John was more than glad to be shuffled out. He was also experienced enough with women to know that Ellie still had a bone to pick with someone, and he had no problem letting Chuck and Sarah take that hit.

He grunted a thanks to Ellie, as she walked over and guided him out the door.

The slow amble back to the room gave him time to reflect. Over the last several months of his surveillance of the Bartowski family, he knew how much Ellie worried about Chuck. Now she finds him in a hospital, without so much as a call from any of them. Word had to get to her somehow and it wasn't a stretch to imagine her calling all the L.A. area hospitals to see if he had been admitted to them.

Arriving at his room, he cast a glance towards Chuck's room just down the hall. While he did feel a tinge guilty that he didn't call Ellie, he reminded himself he was already babysitting her brother and his girlfriend. Either way, he was glad it was Walker taking the heat on this one.

After John left, Ellie asked for more details on how shrapnel was able to make it into Sarah's side. Sarah didn't remember mentioning that it hit her side, but she answered Ellie regardless. Relying on the information that Casey had briefed her on she kept it short, glossing over the harsher details. She did mention that the shrapnel hit was fairly serious and that Chuck had been integral in getting her to the hospital in time.

In an effort to help support her story, Chuck nodded to Ellie and gave her a tired smile when Sarah finished.

After Sarah finished the summation, Ellie began to speak. It wasn't what either of them expected.

Ellie turned to Sarah, her lips pursed. "May I speak to you for a moment Sarah?" She looked back at Chuck before turning to Sarah again. "Alone."

Sarah gave Ellie a questioning look before answering, "Sure." She moved to stand.

"No, don't get up. I'll _push_."

--

When Mary reached her apartment, she gathered together the necessary items she would need for staying with the Doctor. She set it by the door for when she was ready.

She had just enough time left to go through her daily workout routine before jumping in the shower and grabbing a bite to eat.

Not one to slack off, she used the computer in the treadmill to multitask and prepare for her other project.

She started the treadmill on an easy jog to warm up while she accessed the city maps and entered Chuck's address, watching as the screen easily responded with a location. She shifted the satellite view, zooming and rotating to study the area. Next she typed in the address of the Buy More she knew he worked at. Again she used the satellite's zoom and pan tool to study the entire lot, stopping only briefly to study the Weinerlicous location. Later on she would track the routes they use to get to and from work to create a plan of attack.

For now, she was satisfied to memorize the surroundings.

Grinning she took a drink from her water bottle and reset the treadmill to mountain terrain, maximum angle, random speed. Her gait matched the demand of the treadmill easily as and she quickly fell into a rhythm. Once settled into a run pattern, she briefly replayed her thoughts on the recent sample collection from Chuck.

Contamination protocols meant that she had been forced to use drugs that left him as more of an excited mannequin, than a fully engaged participant. While she was experienced in extracting the samples, the methods required would only satisfy him. Although the collection was quite enjoyable, it didn't exactly help her achieve anything close to release. Rather it did the opposite and now she needed the extra hard treadmill workout to burn off some of that sexual tension.

Still, overall, Mary was still extremely pleased with things. Her little sample collection mission was an astounding success.

Not only did she accomplish her personal mission, she met his girlfriend. Under the circumstances and jealousy aside, she seemed quite nice, although she held no illusions as to what the little Miss Walker would do to her if she found out.

And Chuck; well he was astounding in his capacity. The quick revival, with little downtime between samples meant diminishing returns for collection, but she felt he met the challenge quite admirably.

The drug could only facilitate a reaction, but did not control the amount produced or the number of times production could occur. Yet she had collected a _healthy amount_ for testing. The rest was just for fun and collected using a more time honoured method. Waste not, want not.

Feeling upbeat, she decided she should celebrate tonight. She had got wind of a new restaurant that had just opened up near the vault, and had heard they had a beautiful selection of foods from some of the finest chefs in L.A. Besides she thought, as she grinned, she had already had some light appetizers at the hospital and was looking forward to a little heavier meal.

All in all, it had been a _very_ enjoyable day.

--

Ellie pushed Sarah's wheelchair into the hall and off into a nearby empty room just down from Chuck. Closing the door behind her she stepped in front of the wheelchair and crouched down slightly to be on the same level as Sarah.

Sarah had become wary of Ellie's actions. The thought had occurred to her that Ellie may have somehow found out that they are agents.

Ellie's expression was serious as she looked when she spoke.

"Sarah, I don't know what to believe anymore. As much as I like you, you seem very adept at avoiding a heart to heart about Chuck." She paused for a deep breath. "I need to know what you're doing with my brother. If not for his piece of mind, then for mine."

Sarah is taken aback, still unsure of Ellie's intentions and knowledge of the situation. She couldn't stop herself as she gave a guarded response. "What do you mean?"

The annoyance was easily discerned. "Sarah, what you think I mean? You get involved with my brother. Next thing I know, he no longer returns calls, comes home at the weirdest hours of night and lately with bruises, scrapes or _worse_." Gesturing with her hands at the current environment.

Sarah held her tongue as she tried to come up with a suitable answer.

All Sarah's delay did was enrage Ellie. The aggression began to pour out of her as her words become snide. "What? You have to figure out what you need to tell me? I've helped raise Chuck and lived with him most of our lives. Not to mention I'm a doctor Sarah. You don't think I notice that my brother is limping or looks like he's in pain after being _out_ with you?"

"I could say that he is so involved with you that he just forgets to do things, but that's not Chuck. If it was Morgan I would say he forgot_. _But I know my brother and Chuck does not forget."

In the same vein, I could say that since you both are sporting some kind of bruises or wounds every time you go _out_, you must be into some kind of kinky _rough_ sex and that's why you never spend the night. The odd time that you do sleep over, I get the impression that nothing is going on as you are too embarrassed. God knows we never hear anything through the walls and they aren't _that _thick.

Her efforts to absorb Ellie's fury have left Sarah's speechless. The last part has left her mouth is hanging open and she is slightly red. She has _never_ heard Ellie speak like this.

Ellie looked away for a moment, as if to gauge how far she should go, before looking back at Sarah.

"After Jill dumped him for Bryce, I watched as my brother put a shell around himself. At first I told myself it was only natural. Over time I realized I was watching our father all over again."

"From the day our mother left us our father slowly shut down and became an empty shell of a person. A robot doing a mindless task, day in, day out. No emotion was left. It was like she had pulled the plug when she left and his emotions just drained out, leaving him a husk of a person, nothing like the caring, loving, attentive man we knew him to be."

"I hated Jill, as I watched her almost achieve the same disastrous result in Chuck. Somehow, he stopped short of becoming our father. I like to think it was because I took a larger role in our family, filling the gaps wherever I could. Looking at how Chuck is with you, I know that it's not entirely true."

"Who am I kidding. The more I see him with you, the more I realize I was a much smaller part than I had ever guessed. My brother lives with me and I see him barely more than when he was at Stanford."

"The part that scares and elates me at the same time is the fact that when I do see him, he radiates emotion the way he _used to. _ Before our mother left and Jill and Bryce hurt him."

"He is not afraid anymore. He takes on new fears like a challenge. Not to win, but to achieve a better understanding of himself and help others."

"I don't know if he will ever be as assertive as he used to be, but he shows improvement, but only when you are involved in some fashion. While I haven't been able to figure out the strange connection you have with him, I do recognize it as being similar to the relationship my mother had with my father before things went terribly wrong."

"I had just begun to believe that there was hope for Chuck to regain what he had been before all the hurt."

Ellie's eyes changed and became hard, her voice taking an frosty edge that Sarah had never heard. "That's when I noticed the lying and empty promises. Followed by him coming home with strange injuries and a..", her eyes glazed for a moment, ".. a sadness behind the eyes."

"It wasn't like before. It was different and much more dangerous. Like he was slowly being eaten from the inside out in a fashion much worse than our father ever was."

"That's when I realized it was _**you**__. You _were the cause of it. I want to know what you are holding over him."

"Ellie, I know things must seem strange to you. We don't have what anyone would call a traditional relationship. Just know that I would never do anything to hurt Chuck."

Ellie could respond, "I don't believe you."

Sarah could only gape at her directness. "Ellie, I need you to tru-"

"NO! _You_ need to earn my trust. _I_ don't need to do anything. I already gave a part of my heart to Chuck to help him through the loss of our mother and Jill. If you destroy him, you will be destroying a part of me."

"If you want to see me become a heartless bitch, then by all means, step over the threshold. God knows your already knocking at the door. As much as you returned Chuck to his former self and have bonded with him in some way, you're also _killing him_ and if you don't stop it, _I will_."

Sarah straightened at the verbal threat; her demeanor now as cold as Ellie's. With hands gripping the wheelchair arms, as much to stop herself from doing something she would regret as to get grip on the cool steel to help anchor her response.

She spoke through pursed lips, working hard to keep an even tone. "Ellie, it's not smart to threaten me."

Ellie placed her hands on top of Sarah's and leaned forward towards her. "It sure as hell isn't smart to hurt my brother either. Considering your affinity for hospitals and the current state of overworked staff just about _anything_ can happen."

Sarah's mouth is a tight line, her face flushed with anger. "You don't know what you are saying-"

Ellie's snap cut her off. "Don't I? My mother taught me well. Believe me when I say the lessons she gave before and after she left were well learned."

Sarah's choices were obvious. If she retaliated against Ellie there would be repercussions with Chuck. If she kept herself under control, there would be no winners, but there wouldn't be any losers either.

Sensing Sarah's shift in attitude, Ellie relaxed a bit, releasing Sarah's hands before turning her back to the wheelchair, walking to the window. She peered between the blinds for a moment before she sighed and turned back to face Sarah. Her voice much calmer and subdued now, "I want to know why Chuck is hurting. What are you doing to him to make him like that...and I'm not talking about the physical pain."

The irony was not lost on a deep cover agent like Sarah. Going against everything she had been taught, she did what she knew was right. An old quote materialized in her mind. _'The truth shall set you free.'_

In that instant she knew, with her heart and her mind, what she must say. "Ellie. I thought I knew what I was doing; thought everything was ok with Chuck and I. Turned out my own mind knew me better than I knew myself. I was holding back."

She paused and Ellie waited for her to elaborate. "I was afraid to commit to Chuck and I...I'm just not good at telling him things like that." She paused again, this time she let her head fall as more anger drained away. "I didn't want to commit because I was afraid of hurting him and in the process I was doing exactly what I was trying to avoid."

Sarah squinted, her eyes deep in thought, as if she was contemplating something. "Ellie", she said in near whisper. "I think you should know; I'm in love with Chuck."

Ellie's reaction was tentative at first; studying her face for signs of falsehood. "When did you realize this?"

Sarah took a sudden interest in the floor before she raised her eyes to meet Ellie's. "Let's just say the last four days have made me realize a lot about myself. Namely what life would be like without him. At one point I thought he was gone and I became a different person; someone terrible."

Sarah glanced away than focused back on Ellie's eyes. "Ellie. I've never been good with talking about how I feel. Now I'm in so deep with Chuck that I don't know what I would do without him and it scares me in ways I never thought possible."

Ellie watched as tears leaked from Sarah's red eyes. For the first time since her arrival at the hospital, Ellie simply smiled. "If you didn't fear the loss of what you love, then you wouldn't be in love. And Sarah, you _are_ in love with Chuck. You just need to tell him that."

Sarah cheeks reddened as she looked down at her hands. "I have a pretty good feeling he knows that _now._"

Ellie caught the light hearted sarcasm and broke into a very Chuck-like grin leaning forward to give Sarah a long hug. It took a moment before Sarah returned the gesture, but when she did she was overcome with a feeling of belonging and held her tightly.

They held each other for a long time before Ellie snuck a glance at her watch and relaxed her grasp to stand. "All right Miss, I think we'd best get you back into the room. You need your rest too."

"I think I will just sit with Chuck, if that's ok."

Ellie's voice becomes stern. "Actually, it's not ok."

Her eyebrows raised with her voice. "What?"

Ellie chuckled. "It's bed rest or nothing. No chair for you. I'm pulling rank, Doctors orders." Ellie winked. "Don't worry. I'm sure you will like it."

Ellie pushed Sarah back into the Chuck's room and over to his bed. "Are you ok to climb in?"

"I guess, but won't the hospital staff-"

"You let me worry about them. I used to intern here and can still pull some strings. Just remember to take it easy and stay off of Chuck's side. Now climb in."

Chuck had drifted off back to sleep, but with some gentle prodding from Sarah he moved and let her take up position beside him. As Ellie exited the room, she turned back for a moment and watched Sarah cuddle up to Chuck.

Ellie called softly to Sarah.

When Sarah lifted her head to look at her, Ellie continued, "Next time we have a heart to heart, I expect you to come to me; preferably not when you're confined to a hospital.

Sarah smiled gently and responded, "Deal".

Ellie flashed another large Bartowski grin, clearly ecstatic with the recent turn of events and let the door close behind her.

_A/N: It was important that the chapter went well as it covers an expansion in depth for one of the major characters in the show as well as a fundamental interaction between two of the major characters. It is also the LAST chapter of this story. _

_I will follow up with an epilogue and some upcoming information._


	25. Chptr 25 Epilogue

_A/N: I know this is short, but I kept it that way for a reason. Kind of a bridge to the next section of my epic storyline. :)_

**Chapter 25**

**Epilogue:**

Mary hadn't quite realized how happy she felt until she noticed she was humming to herself. She hadn't done that in years. Then again, she hadn't made any changes to her life in years either. The winds were shifting, and she was going with the flow.

Chuck's results had come back from the lab a little while ago and they were excellent; matching her instincts about him. She had checked the form over three times to make sure she had not missed any relevant information. Sperm count had been above average and the little swimmers were healthy and strong. The report mentioned several other important points of excellence, but the biggest information for her was that he was fully compatible with her. Genetically, he would make an excellent _father for their kids_.

First things first.

She had to finish packing everything she was going to be taking to the Doctor's. Plans were already in place for dealing with him. She figured it would take between 2 – 4 weeks to kill him. Poor bastard wouldn't even realize it. It's not like his death would be violent; far from it.

She would have preferred something a little more painful but her actions were necessitated by logic. When dealing with the Office it was best to follow logical actions that led to logical conclusions. There was some saying that was on the tip of her tongue but she couldn't quite remember it. Something about 'killing with kindness...'

Even if she couldn't remember the whole saying the part she did was quite appropriate in this situation. No one would ever fault her for his death. Not even the Office, which is exactly how she needed it to be.

She could ill afford the Office taking a negative interest in her while she seduced Chuck. It might get him killed before she can get pregnant...

--

(Fade to black)

_A/N: You probably noticed several loose ends, including the fact that Chuck and the team have not really addressed or discussed anything regarding their incarceration. Mary, the different flashes and more importantly who was really behind the kidnapping, etc have also not been dealt with. _

_Well I have good news for you as these questions and more will be answered in the sequel Chuck vs The Asset, where Chuck might actually 'get some'. Just from __**who**__ is the question. _

_Stay tuned to find out. ___


End file.
